New dopants might enhance PV glass efficiency

• According to a British-Swedish research team, the down‐shifting process for solar glass manufacturing can be enhanced via making use of 2 dopant cations that produce no absorption bands. The doping with these substances is claimed to minimize the UV transmission while likewise maintaining the glass free from absorption in the visible as well as near-infrared ranges.

Researchers from the RISE Research Institutes of Sweden and also the UK's Sheffield Hallam University have carried out a research to examine how glass modern technologies for PV modules may be improved in regards to mechanical, chemical as well as optical properties.

In the paper Towards boosted cover glasses for solar gadgets, released underway in Photovoltaics, the researchers stressed that it is crucial for glass enhancement to reduce the focus of iron oxide types within the glass front sheet, while likewise providing sufficient absorption of UV photons to protect the ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer encapsulants used for solar module lamination.

The reduction of iron oxide species can be applied, the scientists said, with the supposed down‐shifting procedure, which includes doping the glass with optically active elements. This remedy has a double favorable effect, as the doped glass soaks up harmful UV photons while additionally re‐emitting a few of this taken in energy as photons of noticeable light that can be recorded and transformed by the solar cell, they better described.

In order to make certain that any type of benefits for UV defense are not offset by the unfavorable impact on light transmission of the cover glass, using glass dopant cations that generate no absorption bands is essential. "The big majority of first‐row shift metals, when doped into glasses, experience this limitation," the scientists mentioned.

They recognized nontoxic bismuth (3+) combined with gadolinium (3+) as dopants for new glass setups as well as testing in lab‐scale PV modules. Both substances are 2 cations made of bismuth as well as gadolinium having both an internet electric charge of +3.

The doping with these 2 substances minimizes the UV transmission while also maintaining the glass devoid of absorption in the noticeable and also near-infrared ranges. "This is enhanced by broadband down‐shifting of soaked up UV photons and also re‐emission as visible photons readily available for conversion by the solar cell," the researchers concluded. "The substance effect of these compositional changes to the cover glass thereby enables both increased efficiency as well as increased lifetime of PV modules."

When it comes to the mechanical performance of the PV glass, the study group pointed out the demand of manufacturing thinner glasses with enhanced effectiveness, which would certainly make sure a decrease in panel weight and also costs. The glass stamina is an extrinsic property that depends to a significant degree on the surface of the glass rather than on its mass, according to the report.

The scientists noted that 3 mm is frequently taken into consideration the minimum thickness, which a 2 mm or thinner toughened glass can likewise be achieved with an enhanced process, in which the rollers are replaced by gas flotation protection systems in the heater.