Eco green flexible hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric solar cells with nanoimprint technology and roll-to-roll manufacturing

Vijay K. Varadan; Sang H. Choi

doi:10.1117/12.849597

30 March 2010 Eco green flexible hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric solar cells with nanoimprint technology and roll-to-roll manufacturing

Vijay K. Varadan, Sang H. Choi

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7646, Nanosensors, Biosensors, and Info-Tech Sensors and Systems 2010; 764605 (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.849597
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

This paper explores the technical and commercial feasibility of nanotechnology based, high-efficiency, photovoltaic-thermoelectric hybrid solar cells as an environmentally-friendly, renewable energy source for residential and commercial buildings. To convert as much as possible of the usable photovoltaic (58% of the Energy Density) and thermoelectric (42% of the Energy Density) solar spectrum into electricity, a hybrid multilayer system is presented which comprises of 1) carbon nanotube (CNT) embedded in conducting polymers such as P3HT (poly(3-hexylthiophene) or P3OT (poly3-octylthiophene), 2) 3D gold nanostructures exhibiting plasmonic resonances for energy conversion, 3) nanoantenna architecture to capture IR energy, 4) a composite of Bi2Te3, SiGe nanocrystals and Au nanoshells as thermoelectric energy conversion layer, 5) configuration of the above items engineered in the form of meta-material designs that by virtue of their 3D structures ensure that incident light is neither reflected nor transmitted, but is rather all absorbed, 6) a multilayer arrangement of the above layers in a fractal architecture to capture all the wavelengths from 200 to 3000 nm⁸ and the matching electronic interface for each layer. The roll-to-roll manufacturing method presented will enable economical large-scale production of solar panels. This potentially transformational technology has the ability to replace the Si solar cell technology by reducing costs from $0.18/KWh to $0.003/KWh while introducing a more environmentally-friendly manufacturing process.

Citation Download Citation

Vijay K. Varadan and Sang H. Choi "Eco green flexible hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric solar cells with nanoimprint technology and roll-to-roll manufacturing", Proc. SPIE 7646, Nanosensors, Biosensors, and Info-Tech Sensors and Systems 2010, 764605 (30 March 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.849597

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