Elucidating efficiency losses in cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) photovoltaics and identifying strategies for efficiency improvement

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2013.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Brandt, Riley Eric
Other Authors: Tonio Buonassisi.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/81593
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author Brandt, Riley Eric
author2 Tonio Buonassisi.
author_facet Tonio Buonassisi.
Brandt, Riley Eric
author_sort Brandt, Riley Eric
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description Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2013.
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spelling mit-1721.1/815932019-04-10T19:38:08Z Elucidating efficiency losses in cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) photovoltaics and identifying strategies for efficiency improvement Brandt, Riley Eric Tonio Buonassisi. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering. Mechanical Engineering. Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2013. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-99). In this thesis, I fabricated and characterized a series of thin-film cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) photovoltaic devices. I constructed several different device designs, using sputtered and electrochemically deposited Cu₂O. Characterization was done using XRD, SEM, optical spectroscopy, quantum efficiency, current-voltage, and capacitance-voltage measurements. Then, these devices were modeled using SCAPS-1D, a numerical simulation package, as well as MATLAB for analytical solutions. This simulation enabled a quantitative breakdown of efficiency losses in Cu 20 devices. Simulations suggest that low device efficiencies of 0.3-0.6% may be explained in part by poor bulk transport properties in the Cu₂O. However, the predominant efficiency loss comes from an unoptimized p-n heterojunction, in which a large negative conduction band offset and structural defects lead to a low built-in voltage and high recombination activity. The effects of interface engineering are demonstrated in experiment and simulation. Broader simulations suggest opportunities for future efficiency improvements towards 10%. These include the improvement of bulk properties, the selection of alternative pairing materials, novel device structures, and the possibility of multijunction cells. by Riley Eric Brandt. S.M. 2013-10-24T17:32:51Z 2013-10-24T17:32:51Z 2013 2013 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/81593 858863658 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 99 p. application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Mechanical Engineering.
Brandt, Riley Eric
Elucidating efficiency losses in cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) photovoltaics and identifying strategies for efficiency improvement
title Elucidating efficiency losses in cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) photovoltaics and identifying strategies for efficiency improvement
title_full Elucidating efficiency losses in cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) photovoltaics and identifying strategies for efficiency improvement
title_fullStr Elucidating efficiency losses in cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) photovoltaics and identifying strategies for efficiency improvement
title_full_unstemmed Elucidating efficiency losses in cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) photovoltaics and identifying strategies for efficiency improvement
title_short Elucidating efficiency losses in cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) photovoltaics and identifying strategies for efficiency improvement
title_sort elucidating efficiency losses in cuprous oxide cu₂o photovoltaics and identifying strategies for efficiency improvement
topic Mechanical Engineering.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/81593
work_keys_str_mv AT brandtrileyeric elucidatingefficiencylossesincuprousoxidecu2ophotovoltaicsandidentifyingstrategiesforefficiencyimprovement