KR20200071576A - Photovoltaic-thermoelectric fusion device and power generation module comprising the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are a photoelectric thermoelectric fusion element and a power generation module including the same. The photoelectric thermoelectric fusion element comprises: a thermoelectric element part and a solar cell part positioned above the thermoelectric element part. The solar cell part includes an additional heat providing layer therein, wherein the additional heat providing layer absorbs light in an infrared wavelength range, converts some of absorbed light energy into heat, and provides additional heat to the thermoelectric element part. Therefore, the generation efficiency of the photoelectric thermoelectric fusion element and the power generation module including the same can be improved by supplying additional heat generated by thermalization of the light absorbed in the additional heat providing layer to the thermoelectric element.

Description

Photovoltaic-thermoelectric fusion device and power generation module comprising the same}

The present invention relates to a photoelectric thermoelectric fusion element and a power generation module including the same, and more particularly, to a photoelectric thermoelectric fusion element having a solar cell and a thermoelectric element to improve power generation efficiency and a power generation module including the same.

Solar cells are a type of photoelectric energy conversion system that converts light energy emitted from the sun into electrical energy. Electron-hole pairs are generated in the semiconductor constituting the solar cell by the energy of the incident sunlight, and electricity is generated while being separated and collected by the electric field.

The silicon atom has a total of 14 electrons distributed in three angles. Four electrons are empty in the outermost electron, and four electrons are shared with surrounding silicon atoms to fill it. Therefore, silicon atoms distributed at regular intervals have a crystal structure sharing four electrons and one electron surrounding them. Silicon-based solar cells were commercialized in earnest with the development of the Czochralski method for growing monocrystalline silicon in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1954, Bell Lab's Chapin first used crystalline silicon materials for about 4%. A solar cell with energy conversion efficiency has been developed. In a silicon solar cell, a light generating carrier at the interface acts as a recombination center of an Electron-Hole Pair (EHP) at the interface, causing electrical loss of the carrier. Therefore, in order to manufacture a highly efficient silicon solar cell, it is essential to minimize the recombination loss of EHP generated by irradiated light. A method of using a high-purity substrate or removing impurities from the substrate may be used, but it is difficult to realize high efficiency because carrier recombination mainly occurs on the surface with the most defects on the substrate. Chemical passivation and field effect passivation have been proposed as methods for reducing such recombination loss.

Gallium arsenide and single crystal silicon-based materials are mainly used for the development of high-efficiency solar cells. Since solar cells made of these materials are very expensive, they cannot be used for general purpose use and are used for special purposes. It is necessary to develop a low-cost solar cell that can be used universally. In the case of silicon, polycrystalline and amorphous silicon solar cells are being developed. However, in the case of polycrystalline or amorphous silicon, the energy conversion efficiency is lower than that of monocrystalline silicon, so solving the problem remains. In addition, it is known that a solar cell using a silicon material absorbs only wavelengths in a wavelength range from 0.3 um to 1.1 um. Since the wavelength region is visible region, absorption efficiency is low in the infrared region. In addition, infrared wavelength light that cannot be absorbed increases the surface temperature of the solar cell, resulting in a decrease in power generation efficiency of the solar cell. Conventionally, there is a technique using a specific complex dye adsorbed on a porous membrane to expand the absorption wavelength range of a solar cell, but the effect of extending the absorption wavelength is not large compared to the cost required for one process.

The thermoelectric phenomenon is Seebeck effect, which obtains electromotive force using the temperature difference between the two ends, Peltier effect, which cools and heats with electromotive force, and Thompson effect, which generates electromotive force due to the difference in temperature on the conductor's line (Tomson) It is divided into.

The first person to discover the thermoelectric phenomenon was German physicist T.J.Seebeck in 1821. When a compass is placed near a closed circuit formed by connecting two different metals at each end of an object, creating a temperature difference by contacting a heat source with a different temperature at both connections, the compass needle around the circuit moves Found. The movement of the compass needle means that a magnetic field has been generated around the closed circuit, and Zevek thought that the magnetic field was generated by the temperature difference and called it the thermomagnetic effect. Since then, Danish physicist Eursted discovered that this phenomenon is caused by a magnetic field generated by electric current flow due to a potential difference caused by a temperature difference, so that electricity generated by the temperature difference is called thermoelectricity. The Seebeck effect is a phenomenon in which an electromotive force proportional to the temperature difference occurs when there is a temperature difference at both ends of a substance, and the proportionality constant is referred to as a Seebeck coefficient or a thermopower. In 1834, Jean-Charles Athanas Peltier, France, discovered another important thermoelectric phenomenon that caused a direct current to flow through a circuit made of different conductors, where one side of the junction between the different conductors was heated depending on the direction of the current. On the other hand, the other side is a phenomenon of cooling. This is called the'Peltier Effect'. In 1854, William Thompson discovered that the existing Peltier and Zebeck effects were related to each other and summarized the correlation between them, and in the process, when a potential difference was applied at both ends of a single-conductor stick, heat was applied at both ends of the conductor. We found the Thomson Effect that absorption or release would occur.

The thermoelectric element generates thermoelectric power by generating a thermoelectric phenomenon due to a temperature difference between a substrate being heated and a substrate being cooled by a cooling unit. For example, an n-type semiconductor and a p-type semiconductor bar are arranged side by side, and the upper part is connected by a conductor, and the lower part is a form in which conductors are separately attached. When the upper conductor is placed on the high-temperature part and the lower conductor is placed on the low-temperature part to make the temperature difference above and below, an electromotive force is generated in the two semiconductor bars due to the temperature difference. However, since the sign of the Seebeck coefficient of the n-type semiconductor and the p-type semiconductor are opposite, the direction of the electromotive force is opposite to each other, and the charge carriers all flow from the high side to the low side. That is, in the n-type semiconductor, electrons flow, and in the p-type semiconductor, holes flow from top to bottom. Therefore, current flows upward in the n-type semiconductor on the left and downward in the p-type semiconductor on the right, and the current flows clockwise to the circuit connected to the resistor as shown in the figure. A device that generates power by using the Seebeck effect in which electromotive force is generated due to the temperature difference is called a thermoelectric element.

In general, when the temperature difference between the heating plate and the cooling plate of the thermoelectric element is maintained at 300°C, there was a research result that the power generation capacity of the 50mm × 50mm thermoelectric element is generally about 14 watt. In Germany and Russia, It has also been reported that the power generation capacity exceeds 50 watts. In order to improve the power generation capacity of the thermoelectric element, it is essential to maintain a large temperature difference between the two plates. For this, when a heater or the like is used, the overall power generation efficiency decreases due to the heat capacity consumed therein. Therefore, it is necessary to induce a temperature difference using a heat source that does not consume extra cost. In the case of overheating, the efficiency is reduced, and when a solar cell requiring cooling and a thermoelectric element requiring a certain temperature difference are combined, it is possible to manufacture an ideal fusion element.

Korean Registered Patent No. 1001328

One technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is a photoelectric thermoelectric which improves the thermoelectric performance index by introducing an additional heat providing layer capable of absorbing light in the infrared wavelength range and converting part of the absorbed light energy into heat in the solar cell unit. It is to provide a fusion device.

Another technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a power generation module including the photoelectric thermoelectric fusion element.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned can be clearly understood by a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs from the following description. There will be.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, an embodiment of the present invention includes a thermoelectric element unit; And a solar cell part located on the thermoelectric element part, wherein the solar cell part includes an additional heat providing layer therein, and the additional heat providing layer absorbs and absorbs light in the infrared wavelength range. Provided is a photoelectric thermoelectric fusion device that serves to provide additional heat to the thermoelectric element by converting a portion of energy to heat.

The additional heat providing layer may include an element having a smaller band gap than silicon, and the additional heat providing layer may include one selected from the group consisting of polycrystalline germanium, polycrystalline silicon-germanium, and combinations thereof. have.

The solar cell unit may include a light absorbing layer, a front electrode positioned above the light absorbing layer, the additional heat providing layer positioned below the light absorbing layer, and a back electrode positioned below the additional heat providing layer. . The light absorbing layer may include one selected from the group consisting of a silicon single crystal system, a silicon polycrystalline system, a silicon thin film system, and combinations thereof. The solar cell unit may further include a tunneling layer positioned between the light absorbing layer and the additional heat providing layer.

The thermoelectric element portion may include a first substrate forming a cooling region, a thermoelectric portion located above the first substrate, and a second substrate positioned above the thermoelectric portion but forming a heating region.

Can contain The thermoelectric section is a p-type thermoelectric material columnar array and an n-type thermoelectric material columnar array, electrodes electrically connecting the p-type thermoelectric material columnar array and the n-type thermoelectric material columnar array, and the p-type thermoelectric material column It may include a filling material filling the empty space of the array and the n-type thermoelectric column array.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a power generation module including the photoelectric thermoelectric fusion device of claim 1.

The photoelectric thermoelectric fusion device of the present invention and a power generation module including the same introduces an additional heat providing layer to the solar cell unit, absorbs light in the infrared wavelength range and supplies additional heat generated by thermalization of the absorbed light to the thermoelectric device. It is possible to improve the power generation efficiency of the photoelectric thermoelectric fusion element and the power generation module including the same.

1 is a block diagram of a fusion device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a solar cell unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a thermoelectric element unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a photoelectric thermoelectric fusion device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention may be implemented in various different forms, and thus is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In addition, in order to clearly describe the present invention in the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted, and like reference numerals are assigned to similar parts throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is "connected (connected, contacted, coupled)" with another part, it is not only "directly connected", but also "indirectly connected" with another member in between. "It also includes the case where it is. Also, when a part “includes” a certain component, this means that other components may be further provided instead of excluding other components, unless otherwise stated.

The terms used herein are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this specification, terms such as “include” or “have” are intended to indicate that a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification exists, and that one or more other features are present. It should be understood that the existence or addition possibilities of fields or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof are not excluded in advance.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A photoelectric thermoelectric fusion device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

1 is a schematic block diagram of a photoelectric thermoelectric fusion device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the photoelectric thermoelectric fusion element may include a thermoelectric element portion 100 and a solar cell portion 200 positioned on the thermoelectric element portion 100.

At this time, the solar cell unit 200 may be characterized by including an additional heat providing layer 240 that absorbs light in the infrared wavelength range and converts it into heat.

The solar cell unit 200 is a type of photoelectric energy conversion system that converts light energy emitted from the sun into electrical energy, and electron-hole pairs are generated in the semiconductor constituting the solar cell by the energy of the incident sunlight and generated by an electric field. It functions to develop as it is separated and collected.

The thermoelectric element unit 100 may function to convert heat into electricity by the Seebeck effect. The Zebeck effect is a phenomenon in which thermoelectric power is generated in a circuit when two different types of metals or semiconductors are joined together and a temperature difference is applied thereto. The thermoelectric element unit 100 may contribute to improving the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar cell unit 200. In general, when the temperature of the solar cell itself rises above a certain level, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar cell decreases, and the thermoelectric element unit 100 performs the Seebeck effect of heat generated by the solar cell unit 200. By converting to electricity by cooling the solar cell can improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar cell unit 200.

The additional heat providing layer 240 absorbs light in the infrared region to convert excess energy exceeding the band gap energy of the additional heat providing layer 240 into heat by thermalization to provide additional heat to the thermoelectric element part Can function.

Since photons in the solar spectrum have a wide range of energy, electrons are also excited with energy levels in a wide range. The excited electrons collide with the atoms in the light absorbing layer (electron-photon interaction), so that some of the excess energy of the electron is transferred to the atoms in the light absorbing layer and the electrons are located at the edge of the conduction band. Is called thermalization.

Thermalization occurs very quickly and in this process excess energy that exceeds the band gap energy is converted into heat. The energy of an electron in a single atom appears as a discontinuous value, but when the atoms are adjacent, the energy level of the electron is separated by Pauli's exclusion principle, and the divided energy levels are gathered closely to form a band-like region. This is called an energy band. The energy difference between the energy level at the bottom of the squadron and the energy level at the top of the valence band is called the band gap. The size of the band gap determines the degree of electrical conductivity of the material.

The additional heat providing layer 240 may include an element having a smaller band gap than silicon in order to actively induce thermalization. For example, germanium (Ge), indium antimony (InSb), or gallium antimony (GaSb) ). As a specific example, it is preferable to include one selected from the group consisting of polycrystalline germanium, polycrystalline silicon-germanium, and combinations thereof.

The additional heat providing layer 240 may improve the power generation efficiency of the photoelectric thermoelectric fusion element by increasing the temperature deviation across both ends of the thermoelectric element portion 100 to increase the thermoelectric performance index of the thermoelectric element portion.

The thermoelectric figure-of-merit, which is a measure of the performance of a thermoelectric element, is expressed as the following equation.

[Equation 1]

Here, each S is Seebeck coefficient, σ is electrical conductivity, T is absolute temperature around, and k is thermal conductivity.

The whitening coefficient (S) is as follows.

[Equation 2]

Here, △T is the temperature difference between the high and low temperature parts of the thermoelectric element, and △V means the voltage difference between the input and output terminals of the thermoelectric element when the temperature difference △T is applied to both ends of the thermoelectric element.

Referring to Equations 1 and 2, in order to increase the thermoelectric performance index, it is necessary to increase the temperature coefficient across the whitening coefficient, electrical conductivity, and both ends of the thermoelectric element and lower the thermal conductivity. The additional heat providing layer 240 may provide additional heat to the heat generating area of the thermoelectric element to increase the temperature deviation across both ends of the thermoelectric element portion 100 to improve the thermoelectric performance index of the thermoelectric element portion 100. have.

In this case, the thickness of the additional heat providing layer 240 may be 50 nm to 150 nm.

The solar cell is a type of photoelectric energy conversion system that converts light energy emitted from the sun into electrical energy. Electron-hole pairs are generated in the semiconductor constituting the solar cell by the energy of the incident sunlight, and separated and collected by the electric field. Occurs, but when the separated electron-hole pairs recombine, electrical loss of the carrier occurs.

If the thickness of the additional heat providing layer 240 is less than 50 nm, the light in the infrared region may not be sufficiently absorbed, and heat generation due to thermalization is insufficient, and if it exceeds 150 nm, it is generated at the pn junction of the solar cell unit and separated by an electric field. Since electron-hole recombination occurs before electrons and holes reach the electrode and are collected, power generation efficiency of the solar cell unit may decrease.

2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a solar cell unit 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the solar cell unit 200 provides a light absorbing layer 210, an upper electrode 220 positioned above the light absorbing layer 210, and the additional heat positioned below the light absorbing layer 210. It may be characterized in that it comprises a lower electrode 250 positioned below the layer 240 and the additional heat providing layer 240.

At this time, the light absorbing layer 210 may be composed of a silicon-based solar cell unit or a compound semiconductor-based solar cell unit. When configured as a compound semiconductor-based solar cell unit, the solar cell unit 200 may include a single layer structure or a multi-layer structure of InGaP, InGaSbN, and GaAsSbN.

When configured as a silicon-based solar cell unit, the solar cell unit 200 may include one selected from the group consisting of a silicon single crystal system, a silicon polycrystalline system, a silicon thin film system, and combinations thereof.

Silicon has unique chemical properties and unique properties when it is in crystalline form. The silicon atom has 14 electrons distributed in three angles. Two electrons close to the atomic nucleus are completely filled with electrons, but four electrons are empty at the outermost angle. Share the former. All silicon atoms distributed at regular intervals have a crystal structure sharing four electrons and one electron surrounding them.

Pure silicon does not have free electrons that can move freely like metal, so current does not flow well. Silicon for solar cells is doped with a dopant so that current can flow. For example, in the case of doping phosphorus (P), 4 of the 5 outermost electrons of phosphorus are bonded to electrons of surrounding silicon atoms. When energy is applied to silicon in the form of heat or light, some electron bonds are broken and electrons move and holes remain. Falling electrons become free electrons, making them better conductors than pure silicon.

Doping is essential to use as a solar cell because the number of free electrons is too small for pure silicon. Therefore, the light absorbing layer 210 is preferably doped with a dopant. For example, the dopant may be a group 15 element, and specifically, may be an n-type dopant such as phosphorus (P), arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), and bismuth (Bi). Further, the dopant may be a group 13 element, and specifically, may be a p-type dopant such as boron (B), aluminum (Al), and gallium (Ga).

For example, the dopant may be a group 15 element, and specifically, may be an n-type dopant such as phosphorus (P), arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), and bismuth (Bi). Further, the dopant may be a group 13 element, and specifically, may be a p-type dopant such as boron (B), aluminum (Al), and gallium (Ga). The solar cell unit 200 may include an anti-reflection film (not shown) positioned below the upper electrode 220.

The upper electrode 220 and the lower electrode 250 function to collect holes and electrons generated when sunlight enters the solar cell unit 200, respectively. The upper electrode 220 and the lower electrode 250 may be manufactured according to a known method.

For example, the upper electrode 220 and the lower electrode 2500 are metals by a method such as screen printing, dispensing, e-beam using a low temperature paste, and the like. Or by depositing a metal by a sputtering process.

For example, Ag+Al 3% with 3% Al added to the Ag paste for forming the upper electrode 220, the Al paste for forming the back surface field (BSF), and the Ag paste for forming the rear busbar. Since it is composed of paste, at least three printing and drying processes can be performed.

The metal pattern of the upper electrode 220 needs to design a grid pattern in consideration of the shadowing loss and sheet resistance due to the metal electrode, and as the surface resistance increases, it is difficult to collect electrons from the surface to the electrode. It is desirable to reduce the spacing between and fingers. The most important factor when printing electrodes is the ratio of the height to the electrode area, called the aspect ratio, so a process that can increase the aspect ratio is desirable.

The solar cell unit 200 may include a tunneling layer 230 positioned between the light absorbing layer 210 and the additional heat providing layer 240.

At this time, the tunneling layer 230 allows the carrier to be smoothly transferred by the tunneling effect and prevents recombination of carriers that may occur in defects in the silicon substrate. The tunneling layer 230 may include various materials through which carriers can be tunneled. For example, it may include one selected from the group consisting of silicon oxide, metal oxide, amorphous silicon, and combinations thereof.

The tunneling layer 230 reduces the dangling bond of the interface to passivate the surface, and electrons with a small mass can pass through the oxide film, but holes with a large mass cannot pass through, thereby enabling selective collection of carriers. The thickness of the tunneling layer 230 is preferably 0.5nm to 2nm to enable tunneling.

When the thickness of the tunneling layer 230 is less than 0.5 nm, a tunneling effect is difficult to occur, and when it is 2 nm or more, a carrier cannot pass. The tunneling layer 230 is formed by chemically oxidizing the light absorbing layer 210. The tunneling layer 230 may be formed by various known methods.

The tunneling layer 230 is formed by forming a silicon oxide layer in the case of an in-situ oxidation process in which a metal material is naturally oxidized while being deposited by depositing a metal material at a slow rate in a vacuum atmosphere to form the tunneling layer 230. And this method of forming has the advantage of simplifying the process.

For a specific example, the light absorbing layer 210 was treated with a solution of 70% HNO ₃ at 110°C for 10 minutes to grow an oxide film and formed gas (5% H ₂ / 95% N ₂ ) for 30 minutes at 450°C. The oxide film forming the tunneling layer 230 may be formed by processing.

As another example, after RCA cleaning is performed on the light absorbing layer 210 to remove impurities from the surface, the oxide film is removed from a 5% hydrofluoric acid solution, and the pressure is 50 mTorr in an ozone atmosphere having an ozone concentration of 17.5 wt%. May be oxidized by ozone in the range of 300 ~ 500 ℃ to form an oxide film constituting the tunneling layer 230.

3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a thermoelectric element unit 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the thermoelectric element unit 100 includes a first substrate 110 forming a cooling region, a thermoelectric unit 120 positioned above the first substrate 110, and an upper portion of the thermoelectric unit 120. Positioned but may include a second substrate 130 forming the heating region, the thermoelectric section 120 is a p-type thermoelectric material columnar array 121 and the n-type thermoelectric material columnar array 122 spaced apart from each other, The thermoelectric electrode 123 electrically connecting the p-type thermoelectric column array 121 and the n-type thermoelectric column array 122, and the p-type thermoelectric column array 121 and the n-type thermoelectric material It may include a filling material filling the empty space of the pillar array 122.

The thermoelectric element 100 is generated by using a temperature difference between the first substrate 110 and the second substrate 120. The n-type thermoelectric material pillar array 122 has electrons, and the p-type thermoelectric material pillar array furnace 121 flows holes and transfers heat and recombines at the opposite electrode.

Heat absorption occurs in the substrate adjacent to the electrode where the carrier is generated, and heat is generated in the substrate adjacent to the electrode where the carrier is recombined. The p-type thermoelectric material pillar array 121 and the n-type thermoelectric material pillar array 122 may include a semiconductor material doped with a dopant.

Adding a dopant to the pure semiconductor material can reduce the resistance. This process is called doping. In the case of an intrinsic semiconductor composed of a group 14 element atom having 4 valence electrons, very few carriers exist at room temperature and the number of electrons and holes is the same. When a part of the atoms forming the intrinsic semiconductor is replaced with a group 15 element having one more valence electron than these, the remaining electrons additionally act as carriers. In the n-type semiconductor, the number of electrons acting as a charge carrier is much higher than the number of holes, and thus the electron density is higher than that of the intrinsic semiconductor, thereby improving electrical properties. Conversely, when the group 13 element is substituted with an atom, a p-type semiconductor in which holes act as carriers can be formed.

The thermoelectric electrode 123 is electrically connected to the p-type thermoelectric column array 121 and the n-type thermoelectric column array 122, and the p-type thermoelectric column array 121 and the n-type thermoelectric column array Between the 122 and the first substrate 110, it may be disposed between the p-type thermoelectric material pillar array 121 and the n-type thermoelectric material pillar array 122 and the second substrate 130. The thermoelectric electrode 123 may be electrically connected by pairing the p-type thermoelectric pillar array 121 and the n-type thermoelectric pillar array 122.

The thermoelectric electrode 123 may be a flexible electrode, copper (Cu), silver (Ag), tin (Sn), aluminum (Al), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), gold (Au), platinum (Pt), chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta), or tungsten (W).

Materials used as the p-type thermoelectric pillar array 121 and the n-type thermoelectric pillar array 122 are silicon (Si), bismuth (Bi), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), palladium (Pd), Platinum (Pt), Copper (Cu), Manganese (Mg), Titanium (Ti), Mercury (Hg), Lead (Pb), Tin (Sn), Molybdenum (Mo), Iridium (Ir), Gold (Au) , Silver (Ag), aluminum (Al), zinc (Zn), tungsten (W), cadmium (Cd), iron (Fe), arsenic (As), tellurium (Te), germanium (Ge), etc. Metal compounds, ceramics, conductive materials, and combinations thereof.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a power generation module including the photoelectric thermoelectric fusion element will be described.

The description of the photoelectric thermoelectric fusion element is the same as described above, and the power generation module may include a substrate in which a plurality of the photoelectric thermoelectric fusion elements are disposed and support it. For example, a plurality of photoelectric passion fusion elements may be provided on the substrate in the form of concentric circles to be electrically connected.

The solar cell unit 200 of the present invention converts solar energy into electrical energy while the electron-hole pairs inside the light absorbing layer 210 generated from the incident solar energy are separated and collected by an electric field. The temperature difference formed between the first substrate 110 and the second substrate 130 of the thermoelectric element unit 100 generates thermal power with a Seebeck effect to convert thermal energy into electrical energy. In the photoelectric thermoelectric fusion device of the present invention, heat generated in the power generation process of the solar cell unit 200 is transferred to the thermoelectric device unit 100 to increase the temperature difference formed in the thermoelectric device unit 100, thereby increasing thermoelectric performance. It can be improved, thereby preventing the overheating of the solar cell unit 200 can increase the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar cell unit 200.

Furthermore, since the existing photoelectric thermoelectric fusion device does not absorb the light in the infrared region and transmits it, the light absorption rate of the solar cell is low and the heat generated by thermalization inside the solar cell is insufficient to limit the thermoelectric performance index of the thermoelectric device using it. However, in the present invention, the additional heat providing layer 240 absorbs light in the infrared region and converts excess energy exceeding the band gap energy of the additional heat providing layer 240 into heat by thermalization to convert the thermoelectric element unit. Since additional heat is provided to the (100), the thermoelectric performance index of the thermoelectric element unit 100 may be increased. In addition, since the solar cell unit 200 can absorb light in the infrared region and the light absorption rate increases, the power generation efficiency of the photoelectric thermoelectric fusion device is comprehensively improved to provide a high efficiency photoelectric thermoelectric fusion device and a power generation module including the same. Can be.

The above description of the present invention is for illustration only, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can understand that the present invention can be easily modified into other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. will be. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single type may be implemented in a distributed manner, and similarly, components described as distributed may be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present invention is indicated by the following claims, and all modifications or variations derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalent concepts should be interpreted to be included in the scope of the present invention.

100: thermoelectric element
110: first substrate
120: thermoelectric
121: p-type thermoelectric column array
122: n-type thermoelectric column array
123: thermoelectric electrode
130: second substrate
200: solar cell unit
210: light absorbing layer
220: upper electrode
230: tunneling layer
240: additional heat providing layer
250: lower electrode

Claims (9)

Thermoelectric element part; And a solar cell part located on the thermoelectric element part.
The solar cell unit includes an additional heat providing layer therein,
The additional heat providing layer absorbs light in the infrared wavelength range, and converts a portion of the absorbed light energy into heat to provide additional heat to the thermoelectric element unit. According to claim 1,
The additional heat providing layer comprises an element having a smaller band gap than silicon. According to claim 1,
The additional heat providing layer is a photoelectric thermoelectric fusion device, characterized in that it comprises one selected from the group consisting of polycrystalline germanium, polycrystalline silicon-germanium and combinations thereof. According to claim 1,
The solar cell unit,
Light absorbing layer;
An upper electrode positioned on the light absorbing layer;
The additional heat providing layer located under the light absorbing layer; And
And a lower electrode positioned under the additional heat providing layer. The method of claim 4,
The light absorbing layer is a photoelectric thermoelectric fusion device comprising one selected from the group consisting of a silicon single crystal system, a silicon polycrystalline system, a silicon thin film system, and combinations thereof. The method of claim 4,
The solar cell unit,
And a tunneling layer positioned between the light absorbing layer and the additional heat providing layer. According to claim 1,
The thermoelectric element unit,
A first substrate constituting a cooling region;
A thermoelectric part located above the first substrate; And
A second substrate positioned above the thermoelectric part and forming a heating region;
Photoelectric thermoelectric fusion device comprising a. The method of claim 6,
The thermoelectric section,
P-type thermoelectric column arrays and n-type thermoelectric column arrays spaced apart from each other;
An electrode electrically connecting the p-type thermoelectric pillar array and the n-type thermoelectric pillar array; And
A filling material filling the empty space of the p-type thermoelectric column array and the n-type thermoelectric column array;
Photoelectric thermoelectric fusion device comprising a. A power generation module comprising the photoelectric thermoelectric fusion element of claim 1.

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