Investigation and application of hot carrier phenomenon in photovoltaics

Abstract

The dissertation analyses the direct impact of the hot carrier phenomenon on the operation of a single-junction solar cell. Ways to suppress the influence of the hot carrier effect are determined based on the achieved results. The structure of the ratchet-based sensor operating on the hot carrier effect is modelled, and its prototype is produced. The dissertation includes an introduction, three main chapters, general conclusions, a list of used references, and the author’s publications related to the dissertation topic. The first chapter is an overview of the literature on the dissertation topic. This chapter observes the basic parameters of solar cells and possible losses. The structures of the first and second generation of solar cells are reviewed. Modern structures of third-generation solar cells that can minimise spectral losses are analysed. The last paragraph explains the formation of the hot carrier photocurrent under the action of infrared light in various semiconductor structures. The second chapter represents methodologies used to achieve the obtained results. The chapter describes the manufacturing technology of the samples, the method of detecting the photo signal, the selected computer software and the arrangement of the experimental setup. The third chapter gives an overview and explanation of the achieved results. The chapter analyses the hot carrier phenomenon’s peculiarities and describes how to suppress its influence in a single junction solar cell. The chapter presents a modelled structure and the developed prototype of an electromagnetic radiation sensor operating based on the hot carrier effect. The results of the dissertation have been reported in fourteen scientific publications. Three of them have been published in journals with refereed Clarivate Analytics Web of Science databases refereed journals with a citation index, one in conference proceedings, and ten peer-reviewed in other scholarly journals. The author has made eight presentations at international, regional and local scientific conferences and symposiums.