UAE SORBONNE UNIVERSITY STUDYING A NEW PHOTOVOLTAIC MATERIAL FOR PV CELLS FOR ENHANCED ENERGY HARVESTING

Dr Joumana El Rifai

Sorbonne Assistant Professor of Sciences and Engineering Department

One of the main concerns of both environmentalists, as well as energy sector experts, is to find solutions that can create a reliable, environmentally safe, and waste-free energy source.

Photovoltaic applications and materials have been the most investigated, yet the amount of solar thermal waste at the surface of PV panels, and the waste heat generated has been a concern. This wasted heat has not been put to use in most PV installations, and this leads to reduced power output and performance stability.

Dr. Joumana El Rifai, Assistant Professor of Physics, at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi (SUAD), is researching the utility of thermoelectric materials in the fabrication of PV cells, to help make use of the large amount of waste heat.

This study aims to look into the fabrication and characterization of novel materials that are expected to increase light absorption and at the same time make use of energy in the form of thermal waste. The main goal would be to incorporate such materials in PV cell applications.

The study is being carried out in collaboration with GREMAN a research laboratory of the University of Tours, focusing on materials, devices, and systems for the conversion and management of electrical energy with a main objective of improving energy efficiency.

El Rifai states, “Energy harvesting provides a sustainable source generated from the smart device’s immediate surroundings. Current research in the field of energy harvesting examines a number of techniques that can be utilized to generate a selfsustaining energy source. Research groups worldwide have focused on four main types of energy harvesting. These include solar, thermal, piezoelectric, and radio waves. Our research mainly focuses on fabricating and testing materials capable of both solar and thermal energy harvesting processes.“

She explains further, “So rather than looking at the full photovoltaic structure, we focus on selecting materials suitable for both applications that may be used in photovoltaic or other similar devices. To elaborate further, we fabricate nanostructured Si and Si-based layers that are both capable of reducing the reflectivity (increasing absorption) on the surface of PV panels. These nanostructured layers offer a benefit as they are also capable of thermal energy harvesting, which can help further regional sustainability goals.”

More interesting is that the fabrication cost can be kept to a minimum since Silicon-based materials are commonly used and would therefore not require additional fabrication devices. This study is different in that it would post-process layers to create nanostructured layers using a laser ablation process.

The UAE could actually fabricate this material as the process is very similar to the standard microfabrication process. Thus, according to El Rifai as long as UAE is capable of producing Si Wafers, the remaining post-processing step only requires standard fabrication techniques.

The project is currently in the stage of journal submission.