GB2462700A - Solar cell with a porous insulating layer - Google Patents

Solar cell with a porous insulating layer Download PDF

Info

Publication number
GB2462700A
GB2462700A GB0911708A GB0911708A GB2462700A GB 2462700 A GB2462700 A GB 2462700A GB 0911708 A GB0911708 A GB 0911708A GB 0911708 A GB0911708 A GB 0911708A GB 2462700 A GB2462700 A GB 2462700A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
solar cell
insulating layer
conductor layer
layer
hole conductor
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
GB0911708A
Other versions
GB2462700B (en
GB0911708D0 (en
Inventor
Zhi Zheng
Tao Pan
Linan Zhao
Wei Jun Wang
Xuanbin Liu
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Honeywell International Inc
Original Assignee
Honeywell International Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US12/497,406 external-priority patent/US20100006148A1/en
Application filed by Honeywell International Inc filed Critical Honeywell International Inc
Publication of GB0911708D0 publication Critical patent/GB0911708D0/en
Publication of GB2462700A publication Critical patent/GB2462700A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2462700B publication Critical patent/GB2462700B/en
Expired - Fee Related legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01G—CAPACITORS; CAPACITORS, RECTIFIERS, DETECTORS, SWITCHING DEVICES, LIGHT-SENSITIVE OR TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE DEVICES OF THE ELECTROLYTIC TYPE
    • H01G9/00—Electrolytic capacitors, rectifiers, detectors, switching devices, light-sensitive or temperature-sensitive devices; Processes of their manufacture
    • H01G9/20—Light-sensitive devices
    • H01G9/2027—Light-sensitive devices comprising an oxide semiconductor electrode
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01G—CAPACITORS; CAPACITORS, RECTIFIERS, DETECTORS, SWITCHING DEVICES, LIGHT-SENSITIVE OR TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE DEVICES OF THE ELECTROLYTIC TYPE
    • H01G9/00—Electrolytic capacitors, rectifiers, detectors, switching devices, light-sensitive or temperature-sensitive devices; Processes of their manufacture
    • H01G9/20—Light-sensitive devices
    • H01L51/44—
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01G—CAPACITORS; CAPACITORS, RECTIFIERS, DETECTORS, SWITCHING DEVICES, LIGHT-SENSITIVE OR TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE DEVICES OF THE ELECTROLYTIC TYPE
    • H01G9/00—Electrolytic capacitors, rectifiers, detectors, switching devices, light-sensitive or temperature-sensitive devices; Processes of their manufacture
    • H01G9/20—Light-sensitive devices
    • H01G9/2027—Light-sensitive devices comprising an oxide semiconductor electrode
    • H01G9/2031—Light-sensitive devices comprising an oxide semiconductor electrode comprising titanium oxide, e.g. TiO2
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01G—CAPACITORS; CAPACITORS, RECTIFIERS, DETECTORS, SWITCHING DEVICES, LIGHT-SENSITIVE OR TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE DEVICES OF THE ELECTROLYTIC TYPE
    • H01G9/00—Electrolytic capacitors, rectifiers, detectors, switching devices, light-sensitive or temperature-sensitive devices; Processes of their manufacture
    • H01G9/20—Light-sensitive devices
    • H01G9/2054—Light-sensitive devices comprising a semiconductor electrode comprising AII-BVI compounds, e.g. CdTe, CdSe, ZnTe, ZnSe, with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01G—CAPACITORS; CAPACITORS, RECTIFIERS, DETECTORS, SWITCHING DEVICES, LIGHT-SENSITIVE OR TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE DEVICES OF THE ELECTROLYTIC TYPE
    • H01G9/00—Electrolytic capacitors, rectifiers, detectors, switching devices, light-sensitive or temperature-sensitive devices; Processes of their manufacture
    • H01G9/20—Light-sensitive devices
    • H01G9/2059—Light-sensitive devices comprising an organic dye as the active light absorbing material, e.g. adsorbed on an electrode or dissolved in solution
    • H01G9/2063—Light-sensitive devices comprising an organic dye as the active light absorbing material, e.g. adsorbed on an electrode or dissolved in solution comprising a mixture of two or more dyes
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01G—CAPACITORS; CAPACITORS, RECTIFIERS, DETECTORS, SWITCHING DEVICES, LIGHT-SENSITIVE OR TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE DEVICES OF THE ELECTROLYTIC TYPE
    • H01G9/00—Electrolytic capacitors, rectifiers, detectors, switching devices, light-sensitive or temperature-sensitive devices; Processes of their manufacture
    • H01G9/20—Light-sensitive devices
    • H01G9/2068—Panels or arrays of photoelectrochemical cells, e.g. photovoltaic modules based on photoelectrochemical cells
    • H01G9/2072—Panels or arrays of photoelectrochemical cells, e.g. photovoltaic modules based on photoelectrochemical cells comprising two or more photoelectrodes sensible to different parts of the solar spectrum, e.g. tandem cells
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
    • Y02E10/50—Photovoltaic [PV] energy
    • Y02E10/542—Dye sensitized solar cells
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
    • Y02E10/50—Photovoltaic [PV] energy
    • Y02E10/549—Organic PV cells

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
  • Hybrid Cells (AREA)
  • Photovoltaic Devices (AREA)

Abstract

A solar cell 10, comprising an electron conduction layer 12, a hole conduction layer 14, an insulating layer 18 deposited between the electron and hole conduction layers whereby the insulating layer 18 comprises a plurality of pores 20 and an absorber material 22 disposed at least partially within the pores 20. The absorber material 22 may be in electrical or physical contact with the electron conduction layer 12 and/or the hole conduction layer 14. The absorber material 22 may also be in the form of a plurality of quantum dots or a light sensitive dye, wherein the solar cell would be a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Preferably the electron conducting layer 12 can comprise sintered titanium oxide and the hole conduction layer 14 can comprise a conductive polymer or electrolyte solution. Also the insulating layer 18 can be in the form of a template and can comprise an oxide, such as silica or alumina, or a nitride, such as silicon nitride or aluminium nitride.

Description

SOLAR CELL WITH POROUS NSULATNG LAYER
Priority This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. �119 to U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 6 1/078,973 entitled "SOLAR CELL WITH POROUS INSULATNG LAYER" filed July 8, 2008, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Technical Field
The disclosure generally relates to insulating layers, and more particularly to porous insulating layers for use in electronic devices such as solar cells.
Background
Interfacial charge recombination and other effects can reduce the efficiency of many electronic devices such as solar cells, Field Effect Transistors (FET5) and other electronic devices. In a solar cell, absorbers such as dye or Quantum Dots (QD) are often used to absorb light and generate electron-hole pairs. At least some of the generated electrons are injected into an Electron Conductor (EC), and at least some of the holes are injected into a Hole Conductor (HC), thereby creating a light induced current at the back electrode and counter electrode that contact the EC and the HC, respectively, of the solar cell. The injection efficiency of the solar cell may be defined as the percentage of electrons generated by the absorbers, dye or Quantum Dots (QD) that are actually injected to the Electron Conductor (EC) of the solar cell, and the collection efficiency may be defined as the percentage of injected electrons that are actually transported to the corresponding back electrode of the solar cell without recombining with holes.
The energy conversion efficiency of such a solar cell is related to the injection efficiency and collection efficiency. If the Electron Conductor (EC) and Hole Conductor (HC) are physically close to each other and/or not well electrically insulated, significant interfacial electron-hole recombination can occur, which can reduce the collection efficiency and thus the overall energy conversion efficiency of the solar cell. Similar interfacial charge recombination may occur in other electronic devices, such as at or near the gate oxide of a Field Effect Transistor (FET5). What may be desirable, therefore, is an insulating layer that helps reduce interfacial charge recombination and/or other effects to help improve the efficiency of such electronic devices.
Summary
This disclosure relates to generally to insulating layers, and more particularly to porous insulating layers for use in electronic devices such as solar cells and FETs.
A solar cell is used as a particular example of such an electronic device in the discussion below. However, it should be understood that the application of a porous insulating layer in other electronic devices, such as FETs (Field Effect Transistors), LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes), VCSELs (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers), RCPDs (Resonant Cavity Photo Detectors) and other devices, is also contemplated.
Some solar cells may be sensitized to improve their absorbance of incident photons. Solar cells may, for example, be sensitized with dye molecules and/or quantum dots that eject electrons upon photoexcitation. As indicated above, a solar cell may include an electron conductor and a hole conductor. In some instances, it may be useful to prevent direct contact between the electron conductor and the hole conductor in order to reduce or eliminate recombination of electrons and holes at the interface.
An example solar cell may include an electron conductor layer, a hole conductor layer, and an insulating layer disposed between the electron conductor layer and the hole conductor layer. The insulating layer may have a plurality of pores or the like. Absorber material may be disposed at least partially within at least some of the plurality of pores.
Another example solar cell may include an electron conductor layer that includes sinterized titanium dioxide. An insulating layer may be disposed over the electron conductor layer. The insulating layer may have a plurality of pores formed therein. The solar cell may also include a plurality of quantum dots. At least some of the plurality of quantum dots may be disposed at least partially within at least some of the plurality of pores of the insulating layer. A hole conductor layer may be disposed over the insulating layer and the plurality of quantum dots. The hole conductor layer may include a conductive polymer, but this is not required.
An example method of forming a solar cell may include providing an electron conductor layer, providing an insulating layer over the electron conductor layer, processing the insulating layer to include pores configured to accommodate absorber material, providing the absorber material at least partially within the pores in the insulating layer, and disposing a hole conductor layer over the absorber materials and the insulating layer.
The above summary is not intended to describe each and every disclosed embodiment or every implementation of the disclosure. The Description that follows more particularly exemplify the various illustrative embodiments.
Brief Description of the Figures
The following description should be read with reference to the drawings. The drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, depict selected embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure may be more completely understood in consideration of the following detailed description of various embodiments in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic view of an illustrative but non-limiting example of a solar cell; and Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a portion of the solar cell of Figure 1.
While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the invention to the particular illustrative embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.
Description
The following description should be read with reference to the drawings, in which like elements in different drawings are numbered in like fashion. The drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, depict selected embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Although examples of construction, dimensions, and materials are illustrated for the various elements, those skilled in the art will recognize that many of the examples provided have suitable alternatives that may be utilized.
This disclosure relates to generally to insulating layers, and more particularly to porous insulating layers for use in electronic devices such as solar cells and FETs.
A solar cell is used as a particular example electronic device below. However, it should be understood that the application of a porous insulating layer is other electronic devices such as FETs is also contemplated. For example, such a porous insulating layer may be useful in helping to reduce interfacial charge recombination and/or other effects at or near the gate oxide of a FET.
In one illustrative embodiment, a solar cell may include one or more photo-excitable dyes that can absorb one or more photons and correspondingly eject one or more electrons. Any suitable photo-excitable dye, assuming it can absorb photons within a given wavelength range or ranges, may be used. Illustrative but non-limiting examples of suitable dyes include complexes of transition metals such as ruthenium, such as ruthenium tris(2,2'bipyridyl-4,4'dicarboxylate), and osmium. Examples also include porphyrins such as zinc tetra (4-carboxylphenyl) porphyrin, cyanides such as iron-hexacyanide complexes and phthalocyanines.
Alternatively, or in addition, a solar cell may include quantum dots that can absorb one or more photons and correspondingly eject one or more electrons.
Quantum dots are very small semiconductors, having dimensions in the nanometer range. Because of their small size, quantum dots may exhibit quantum behavior that is distinct from what would otherwise be expected from a larger sample of the material. In some cases, quantum dots may be considered as being crystals composed of materials from Groups Il-VI, III-V, or IV-VI materials. The quantum dots employed herein may be formed using any appropriate technique.
Examples of specific pairs of materials for forming quantum dots include but are not limited to MgO, MgS, MgSe, MgTe, CaO, CaS, CaSe, CaTe, SrO, SrS,SrSe, SrTe, BaO, BaS, BaSe, BaTe, ZnO, ZnS, ZnSe, ZnTe, CdO, CdS, CdSe, CdTe, HgO, HgS, HgSe, HgTe, A1203, A12S3, A12Se3, A12Te3, Ga203, Ga2S3, Ga2Se3, Ga2Te3, 1n203, In2S3, In2Se3, In2Te3, Si02, Ge02, Sn02, SnS, SnSe, SnTe, PbO, Pb02, PbS, PbSe, PbTe, A1N, AlP, AlAs, A1Sb, GaN, GaP, GaAs, GaSb, InN, InP, InAs and InSb.
Particular examples of suitable pairs of materials for forming quantum dots include Ag2S, CdSe, CdTe and CdS.
In the illustrative embodiment, the solar cell may also include an electron conductor. In some cases, the electron conductor may be an n-type electron conductor, but this is not required. The electron conductor may be metallic and/or semiconducting, such as Ti02 or ZnO. In some cases, the electron conductor may be an electrically conducting polymer such as a polymer that has been doped to be electrically conducting and/or to improve its electrical conductivity. In some instances, the electron conductor may be formed of titanium dioxide that has been sinterized.
In the illustrative embodiment, the solar cells may also include a hole conductor. A variety of hole conductors are contemplated. In some cases, for example, the electron conductor may be an n-type conductor that may be metallic or an electrically conductive polymer. When so provided, the hole conductor may be a p-type electrically conductive polymer or the like.
In some instances, any suitable p-type conductive polymer may be used, such as P3HT, or poly(3-hexyl thiophene), poly[3-(w-mercapto hexyl)] thiophene, poly[3- (w-mercapto undecyl)] thiophene, poly[3 -(w-mercapto dodecyl)] thiophene, MEH- PPV, or poly[2,5 -dimethoxy-1,4-phenylene-1,2-ethenylene,2-methoxy-5 -2-ethylhexyloxy-1,4-phenylene-1,2-ethylene), PPP, or poly(p-phenylene), TFB, or poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-N-(4-(3 -methylpropyl)-diphenylamine), and the like. In some instances, the hole conductor may be a p-type semiconductor. Illustrative but non-limiting examples of suitable p-type semiconductors include Cul and CuSCN.
The hole conductor may be a non-polymeric organic molecule such as spiro-OMeTAD.
In some cases, the hole conductor may be an electrolyte. An illustrative but non-limiting example of an electrolyte may be formed by dissolving suitable redox materials such as combinations of metal iodides with iodine or combinations of metal bromides with bromine. Examples of suitable metal iodides include Lil, Nal, 1(1, Cal2 and MgI2. Examples of suitable metal bromides include LiBr, NaBr, KBr and CaBr2.
Examples of suitable solvents include but are not limited to carbonate compounds and nitrile compounds. In some instances, the hole conductor may be an ionic liquid such as 1 -methyl-3 -ethylimidazolium dicyanamide (EMIDCN), 1 -propyl-3 -methylimidazo hum iodide(PMII), 1 -ethyl-3 -methylimidazolium thiocyanate (EMISCN), and the like. The ionic liquid may include an electrolyte such as Lii, iodine or NMBI.
In some instances, the hole conductor may be an electrolyte gel that includes an ionic liquid and an electrolyte as discussed above, but may also include a gelling agent or gelator. Illustrative but non-limiting examples of suitable gelators are shown below: In the illustrative embodiment, the solar cell may also include an electrically insulating layer that is disposed over at least a portion of an electron conductor layer to prevent or substantially prevent electrical contact between the electron conductor layer and the hole conductor layer and/or prevent or reduce electronlhole recombination at the interface. The insulating layer may be formed of any suitable material, using any suitable process or technique process. In some instances, the insulating layer may be deposited and/or sputtered onto at least a portion of an electron conductor layer. In some cases, an insulating layer may be formed simply by submerging the electron conductor layer into appropriate precursor solution(s), followed by a sintering process.
In some instances, the insulating layer may be formed of a material that has a relatively large band gap and/or a relatively high melting point. Illustrative but non-limiting examples of suitable insulating materials include, but are not limited to, oxide-based materials such as Si02, A1203, A1N, Zr02, Ga203, La203, Nd203, or Yb203. Another example of a suitable insulating material includes, but is not limited to, Si3N4.
In some cases, the insulating layer may include pores that are configured to accommodate absorber materials such as photo-reactive dyes and/or quantum dots.
The pores may be formed within the insulating layer using any suitable process or technique. In some cases, pores may be formed within the insulating layer using electro perforation, stamping, embossing, physical and/or chemical etching using, for example an appropriate nano-material template as a mask, and/or using any other suitable technique or process. In some instances, pores may be formed by first attaching a sacrificial nanowire/nanotube template or array to the electron conductor layer, followed by deposition of the insulating material between the nanowire/nanotube materials of the nanowire/nanotube template or array. The nanowire/nanotube template or array may then be selectively removed, leaving pores formed within the insulating material.
Turning now to the Figures, Figure 1 is a schematic view of an illustrative solar cell 10. The illustrative solar cell 10 includes an electron conductor layer 12 and a hole conductor layer 14. Electron conductor layer 12 may be formed of any suitable conductive material that can accept injected electrons. In some instances, electron conductor layer 12 may be or include an n-type conductive material. In some cases, electron conductor layer 12 may include or otherwise be formed of sinterized titanium dioxide, but this is not required. Hole conductor layer 14 may be formed of any suitable material that can accept holes (i.e., donate electrons). In some instances, hole conductor layer 14 may be or include a p-type conductive material, but this is not required.
As better shown in Figure 2, the illustrative solar cell 10 may also include an intermediate layer 16. Figure 2 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of a portion of the illustrative solar cell 10 of Figure 1. With reference to Figure 2, intermediate layer 16 may be seen as including an insulating layer 18 that includes a number of pores 20. Insulating layer 18 may be formed of any suitable material(s) using any suitable process or technique. In some cases, insulating layer 18 may be formed of a material that has a relatively high band gap, thereby helping to prevent or substantially reduce movement of electrons through the insulating layer 18. By preventing or reducing electron movement through insulating layer 18, the efficiency of solar cell 10 may be increased because, for example, electronlhole recombination at the interface may be reduced or eliminated. In the illustrative embodiment, insulating layer 18 may include a plurality of pores 20 that can be formed in any suitable manner, and may be configured to accommodate absorber materials.
In some cases, pores 20 may be formed within the insulating layer using electro perforation, stamping, embossing, physical and/or chemical etching using, for example an appropriate nano-material template as a mask, and/or using any other suitable technique or process. In some instances, pores may be formed by first attaching a sacrificial nanowire/nanotube template or array to the electron conductor layer, followed by deposition of the insulating material between the nanowire/nanotube materials of the nanowire/nanotube template or array. The nanowire/nanotube materials may then be selectively removed, leaving pores formed within the insulating material.
Absorber materials 22, which may include photo-reactive dyes, quantum dots or any other suitable absorber material(s), may be disposed within pores 20. It will be appreciated that in some instances, absorber materials 22 may be in direct physical and/or electrical contact with electron conductor layer 12. Also, absorber materials 22 may be in direct physical and/or electrical contact with hole conductor layer 14, as shown. When so provided, the rate at which electrons can move (in response to incident photons) from absorber material 22 to electron conductor layer 12 and/or from hole conductor layer 14 to absorber material 22 is faster than if the electrons had to pass through an intervening layer.
In some cases, the absorber material may include a plurality of absorbers each disposed within a corresponding pore, as shown in Figure 2. Also, and in some cases, the plurality of absorbers may each having a dimension in a direction perpendicular to the primary plane (i.e. horizontal plane in Figure 2) of the insulating layer 16 that is greater than an average thickness of the insulating layer 16, as shown in Figure 2.
It will be appreciated that one or more of electron conductor layer 12 and/or hole conductor layer 14 may be transparent or at least substantially transparent to incident light within a particular wavelength or range of wavelengths so that incident photons can reach absorber material 22. Once an incident photon (or photons) is/are absorbed by absorber material 22, absorber material 22 may eject one or more electrons into electron conductor layer 12. Absorber material 22 may then be reduced by one or more electrons that are provided by hole conductor layer 14. It will be recognized that solar cell 10 may include one or more additional layers not shown, such as conductive layers in contact with electron conductor layer 12 and hole conductor layer 14, sometimes to form back electrodes (not explicitly shown) of the solar cell 10. Other layers such as protective layers may also be included.
The disclosure should not be considered limited to the particular examples described above, but rather should be understood to cover all aspects of the invention as set out in the attached claims. Various modifications, equivalent processes, as well as numerous structures to which the invention can be applicable will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art upon review of the instant specification.

Claims (16)

  1. WE CLAIM: 1. A solar cell comprising: an electron conductor layer; a hole conductor layer; an insulating layer disposed between the electron conductor layer and the hole conductor layer, the insulating layer having a plurality of pores; and absorber material disposed at least partially within at least some of the plurality of pores.
  2. 2. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein the absorber material includes a plurality of absorbers each disposed within a corresponding pore such that at least some of the plurality of absorbers are in physical contact, electrical contact, or both with the electron conductor layer.
  3. 3. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein the absorber material includes a plurality of absorbers each disposed within a corresponding pore such that at least some of the plurality of absorbers are in physical contact, electrical contact, or both with the hole conductor layer.
  4. 4. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein the absorber material includes a plurality of absorbers each disposed within a corresponding pore such that at least some of the plurality of absorbers are in physical and electrical contact with the electron conductor layer and the hole conductor layer.
  5. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein the absorber material includes a plurality of absorbers each having a dimension in a direction perpendicular to the insulating layer that is greater than an average thickness of the insulating layer.
  6. 6. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein the hole conductor layer comprises a conductive polymer.
  7. 7. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein the hole conductor layer comprises a non-polymeric molecule.
  8. 8. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein the hole conductor layer comprises an electrolyte solution.
  9. 9. The solar cell of claim 8, wherein the electrolyte solution further comprises one or more of the following gelator molecules: CC° or
  10. 10. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein the electron conductor layer comprises titanium dioxide.
  11. 11. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein the insulating layer comprises one or more of Si02, Si3N4, A1203, AIIN, Zr02, Ga203, La203, Nd203, and Yb203.
  12. 12. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein the absorber material comprises light sensitive dye molecules.
  13. 13. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein the absorber material comprises quantum dots.
  14. 14. A solar cell comprising: an electron conductor layer comprising sinterized titanium dioxide; an insulating layer disposed over the electron conductor layer, the insulating layer having a plurality of pores; a plurality of quantum dots, at least some of the plurality of quantum dots being disposed at least partially within at least some of the plurality of pores of the insulating layer; and a hole conductor layer disposed over the insulating layer and the plurality of quantum dots, the hole conductor layer comprising a conductive polymer.
  15. 15. The solar cell of claim 14, wherein the insulating layer comprises an oxide-based insulating layer.
  16. 16. The solar cell of claim 14, wherein at least some of the plurality of quantum dots are in electrical and physical contact with the electron conductor layer and the hole conductor layer.17 The solar cell of claim 14, wherein at least some of the plurality of quantum dots have a dimension in a direction perpendicular to the insulating layer that is greater than an average thickness of the insulating layer.18. A method of forming a solar cell, the method comprising the steps of: providing an electron conductor layer; disposing an insulating layer over the electron conductor layer; processing the insulating layer to include pores configured to accommodate absorber material; providing the absorber material at least partially within the pores formed in the insulating layer; and disposing a hole conductor layer over the absorber materials and the insulating layer.19. The method of claim 18, wherein processing the insulating layer comprises electro perforation or an etching process.20. The method of claim 18, wherein disposing and processing the insulating layer comprises providing a sacrificial nano-material template, followed by depositing the insulating layer and subsequently removing the nano-material template.
GB0911708A 2008-07-08 2009-07-07 Solar cell with porous insulating layer Expired - Fee Related GB2462700B (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US7897308P 2008-07-08 2008-07-08
US12/497,406 US20100006148A1 (en) 2008-07-08 2009-07-02 Solar cell with porous insulating layer

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB0911708D0 GB0911708D0 (en) 2009-08-19
GB2462700A true GB2462700A (en) 2010-02-24
GB2462700B GB2462700B (en) 2010-12-01

Family

ID=41022219

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB0911708A Expired - Fee Related GB2462700B (en) 2008-07-08 2009-07-07 Solar cell with porous insulating layer

Country Status (1)

Country Link
GB (1) GB2462700B (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2011110869A3 (en) * 2010-03-11 2011-11-03 Isis Innovation Limited Photosensitive solid state heterojunction device

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1689018A1 (en) * 2003-11-28 2006-08-09 Ngk Spark Plug Co., Ltd. Dye-sensitized solar cell
EP1936644A2 (en) * 2006-12-22 2008-06-25 Sony Deutschland Gmbh A photovoltaic cell
JP2008177099A (en) * 2007-01-19 2008-07-31 Gunze Ltd Dye-sensitized solar cell, and manufacturing method of dye-sensitized solar cell

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1689018A1 (en) * 2003-11-28 2006-08-09 Ngk Spark Plug Co., Ltd. Dye-sensitized solar cell
EP1936644A2 (en) * 2006-12-22 2008-06-25 Sony Deutschland Gmbh A photovoltaic cell
JP2008177099A (en) * 2007-01-19 2008-07-31 Gunze Ltd Dye-sensitized solar cell, and manufacturing method of dye-sensitized solar cell

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2011110869A3 (en) * 2010-03-11 2011-11-03 Isis Innovation Limited Photosensitive solid state heterojunction device

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB2462700B (en) 2010-12-01
GB0911708D0 (en) 2009-08-19

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US20100006148A1 (en) Solar cell with porous insulating layer
Nogueira et al. Polymers in dye sensitized solar cells: overview and perspectives
JP6050874B2 (en) Photoactive device with multiple conductive layer systems
Smestad et al. A technique to compare polythiophene solid-state dye sensitized TiO2 solar cells to liquid junction devices
KR101172534B1 (en) Inorganic-Organic Heterojunction Solar Cells with All-Solid State
KR101168227B1 (en) Fabrication Method of Nanostructured Inorganic-Organic Heterojunction Solar Cells
US7042029B2 (en) Solid state heterojunction and solid state sensitized photovoltaic cell
US20160218308A1 (en) Photovoltaic device
KR101740429B1 (en) Quantum dot comprising resonant surface ligands, and organoelectroluminescent device and solar cell employing the same
KR101462866B1 (en) Solar cell and method of manufacturing the solar cell
US20070240761A1 (en) Photovoltaic device and method for preparing the same
KR20140035284A (en) Solar cell with structured light harvester
KR100964182B1 (en) Dye-sensitized solar cells and method of manufacturing the same
Cui et al. Propeller-shaped, triarylamine-rich, and dopant-free hole-transporting materials for efficient n–i–p perovskite solar cells
TWI394309B (en) Dye-sensitized solar cell and method forming the same
US8455757B2 (en) Solar cell with electron inhibiting layer
KR102108139B1 (en) Perovskite solar cells containing N-type semiconductors modified with nitrile compound, and fabricating method therof
JP2012212638A (en) Dye-sensitized solar cell and manufacturing method therefor
KR101246618B1 (en) Inorganic Semiconductor-Sensitized Photovoltaic Devices and Fabrication Method Thereof
GB2462700A (en) Solar cell with a porous insulating layer
KR101978022B1 (en) Electrolyte composition for dye-sensitized solar cell and dye-sensitized solar cell comprising said electrolyte composition
Subbiah et al. Towards All‐Inorganic Transport Layers for Wide‐Band‐Gap Formamidinium Lead Bromide‐Based Planar Photovoltaics
EP2538452A2 (en) All-solid-state heterojunction solar cell
KR101465397B1 (en) Solar cell
CN114556605A (en) Solar cell

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 20150707