Hole selective contacts for rear surface of c-Ge TPV devices

This work characterizes a technique for creating hole-selective contacts on the rear surface of crystalline germanium thermophotovoltaic cells. The technique consists in creating localized p-type contacts by laser-firing a set of dielectric layers with an aluminium film on top of them. Previous work...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Rivera Vila, Gerard|||0009-0003-4206-9102
Tipo de recurso: tesis de maestría
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/400093
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/400093
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Photovoltaic power generation
Germanium
Thermophotovoltaics
germanium
thermophotovoltaic cells
laser-fired contacts
partially contacted surfaces
Energia fotovoltaica--Generació
Germani
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Energies::Energia solar fotovoltaica::Cèl·lules solars
Descripción
Sumario:This work characterizes a technique for creating hole-selective contacts on the rear surface of crystalline germanium thermophotovoltaic cells. The technique consists in creating localized p-type contacts by laser-firing a set of dielectric layers with an aluminium film on top of them. Previous works by our research group did not include this aluminium layer and obtained poor performance with our infra-red laser due to its excessive power. Because of this, a detailed characterization of the modified approach is performed to find the parameters that lead to the optimal performance. Two common metrics in the creation of local contacts by means of a laser process are used as a reference: contact resistivity and contact surface recombination velocity. In a wider frame, this work contributes to the development of a crystalline germanium cost-efficient technology for thermophotovoltaic cells that could reduce the overall costs of thermophotovoltaic systems and therefore become more widely used.