IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v13y2020i16p4198-d398853.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Light Reflection Loss Reduction by Nano-Structured Gratings for Highly Efficient Next-Generation GaAs Solar Cells

Author

Listed:
  • Narottam Das

    (School of Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University Australia, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
    Centre for Intelligent Systems, School of Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia)

  • Devanandh Chandrasekar

    (Neon Solar System, Carrum Downs, VIC 3201, Australia)

  • Mohammad Nur-E-Alam

    (Electron Science Research Institute, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA 6027, Australia)

  • M. Masud K. Khan

    (School of Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University Australia, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
    Centre for Intelligent Systems, School of Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia)

Abstract

This paper mainly focuses on increasing the conversion efficiency of GaAs solar cells by reducing the light reflection losses. The design of nano-structured gratings and their light trapping performance are modelled and optimised by using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The sunlight directly impinges on the solar panel or cells, then a portion of the incident sunlight reflects back to the air from the surface of the panel, thus leading to a reduction in the light absorption capacity of the solar cells. In order to proliferate the light absorption capacity of solar cells nano-grating structures are employed, as they are highly capable of capturing the incident sunlight compared to a conventional (or flat type) solar cell, which results in generating more electrical energy. In this study, we design three different types of nano-grating structures, optimise their parameters and their performance in light capturing capacity. From the simulation results, we confirm that that it is possible to reduce light reflection losses up to 27%, by using the nano-grating structures, compared to conventional type solar cells. This reduction of reflection losses helps to improve the conversion efficiency of next-generation GaAs solar cells significantly for a sustainable green Earth.

Suggested Citation

  • Narottam Das & Devanandh Chandrasekar & Mohammad Nur-E-Alam & M. Masud K. Khan, 2020. "Light Reflection Loss Reduction by Nano-Structured Gratings for Highly Efficient Next-Generation GaAs Solar Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-12, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:16:p:4198-:d:398853
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/16/4198/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/16/4198/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jane Davies & Nitin Joglekar, 2013. "Supply Chain Integration, Product Modularity, and Market Valuation: Evidence from the Solar Energy Industry," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 22(6), pages 1494-1508, November.
    2. Mikhail Vasiliev & Mohammad Nur-E-Alam & Kamal Alameh, 2019. "Recent Developments in Solar Energy-Harvesting Technologies for Building Integration and Distributed Energy Generation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-23, March.
    3. Mandal, P. & Sharma, S., 2016. "Progress in plasmonic solar cell efficiency improvement: A status review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 537-552.
    4. Jacqualine A Thomas & Mikhail Vasiliev & Mohammad Nur-E-Alam & Kamal Alameh, 2020. "Increasing the Yield of Lactuca sativa , L. in Glass Greenhouses through Illumination Spectral Filtering and Development of an Optical Thin Film Filter," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maria A. Franco & Stefan N. Groesser, 2021. "A Systematic Literature Review of the Solar Photovoltaic Value Chain for a Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-35, August.
    2. Burcu Tan & Edward G. Anderson, Jr. & Geoffrey G. Parker, 2020. "Platform Pricing and Investment to Drive Third-Party Value Creation in Two-Sided Networks," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 31(1), pages 217-239, March.
    3. Wang, Zhaohua & Li, Yi & Wang, Ke & Huang, Zhimin, 2017. "Environment-adjusted operational performance evaluation of solar photovoltaic power plants: A three stage efficiency analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1153-1162.
    4. Enrichi, F. & Quandt, A. & Righini, G.C., 2018. "Plasmonic enhanced solar cells: Summary of possible strategies and recent results," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 2433-2439.
    5. Michael G. Jacobides & C. Jennifer Tae, 2015. "Kingpins, Bottlenecks, and Value Dynamics Along a Sector," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(3), pages 889-907, June.
    6. Yonghyeon Na & Sahn Nahm & Young Hun Jeong, 2022. "Hammer Impact-Driven Power Generator Using Buzzer-Type Piezoelectric Energy Converter for Wind Power Generator Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-16, November.
    7. Suvrat Dhanorkar & Suresh Muthulingam, 2020. "Do E‐Waste Laws Create Behavioral Spillovers? Quasi‐Experimental Evidence from California," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 29(7), pages 1738-1766, July.
    8. Mohammad Khairul Basher & Mohammad Nur-E Alam & Kamal Alameh, 2021. "Design, Development, and Characterization of Low Distortion Advanced Semitransparent Photovoltaic Glass for Buildings Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-11, June.
    9. Kao, Ta-Wei (Daniel) & Simpson, N.C. & Shao, Benjamin B.M. & Lin, Winston T., 2017. "Relating supply network structure to productive efficiency: A multi-stage empirical investigation," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 259(2), pages 469-485.
    10. Faissal Jelti & Amine Allouhi & Mahmut Sami Büker & Rachid Saadani & Abdelmajid Jamil, 2021. "Renewable Power Generation: A Supply Chain Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-22, January.
    11. Fabricio Eidelwein & Fabio Antonio Sartori Piran & Daniel Pacheco Lacerda & Aline Dresch & Luis Henrique Rodrigues, 2018. "Exploratory Analysis of Modularization Strategy Based on the Theory of Constraints Thinking Process," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 19(2), pages 111-122, June.
    12. Alkhalayfeh, Muheeb Ahmad & Aziz, Azlan Abdul & Pakhuruddin, Mohd Zamir, 2021. "An overview of enhanced polymer solar cells with embedded plasmonic nanoparticles," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    13. Saurabh Bansal & Suresh Muthulingam, 2022. "Can precise numbers boost energy efficiency?," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 31(8), pages 3264-3287, August.
    14. Wolfgang Albrecht & Martin Steinrücke, 2020. "Continuous-time scheduling of production, distribution and sales in photovoltaic supply chains with declining prices," Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal, Springer, vol. 32(3), pages 629-667, September.
    15. Jacqualine A Thomas & Mikhail Vasiliev & Mohammad Nur-E-Alam & Kamal Alameh, 2020. "Increasing the Yield of Lactuca sativa , L. in Glass Greenhouses through Illumination Spectral Filtering and Development of an Optical Thin Film Filter," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, May.
    16. Félicia Saïah & Diego Vega & Harwin de Vries & Joakim Kembro, 2023. "Process modularity, supply chain responsiveness, and moderators: The Médecins Sans Frontières response to the Covid‐19 pandemic," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 32(5), pages 1490-1511, May.
    17. Hao, Daning & Qi, Lingfei & Tairab, Alaeldin M. & Ahmed, Ammar & Azam, Ali & Luo, Dabing & Pan, Yajia & Zhang, Zutao & Yan, Jinyue, 2022. "Solar energy harvesting technologies for PV self-powered applications: A comprehensive review," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 678-697.
    18. Na, Yonghyeon & Lee, Min-Seon & Lee, Jung Woo & Jeong, Young Hun, 2020. "Wind energy harvesting from a magnetically coupled piezoelectric bimorph cantilever array based on a dynamic magneto-piezo-elastic structure," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    19. Patel, Pankaj C. & Tsionas, Mike G., 2022. "Cultural interconnectedness in supply chain networks and change in performance: An internal efficiency perspective," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    20. Po‐Hsuan Hsu & Hai‐Ping Hui & Hsiao‐Hui Lee & Kevin Tseng, 2022. "Supply chain technology spillover, customer concentration, and product invention," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 393-417, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:16:p:4198-:d:398853. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.