This disclosure relates to photovoltaic and photoelectrosynthetic cells, devices, methods of making and using the same.

The invention relates to an optoelectronic device and to the method for manufacturing same. The optoelectronic device (45), according to the invention includes, in particular: a semiconductor substrate (46) doped with a first type of conductivity; semiconductor contact pads (18) or a semiconductor layer on a surface (16) of the substrate which are/is respectively doped with a second type of conductivity that is the opposite of the first type; and semiconductor elements (24), each semiconductor element being in contact with a contact pad or with the layer.

A photovoltaic structure includes: a hole-selective contact comprising an anodized aluminum layer overlaying a different electrode metal and a plurality of contact vias that extend through the anodized aluminum layer to the different electrode metal, wherein locations of the plurality of contact vias define an ordered array; an absorber comprising a chalcopyrite (Ag,Cu)(Ga, In)S,Se:Alk, where Alk represents at least one alkali element, the absorber comprising at least a residual of a contiguous nucleation template over the anodized aluminum layer; an electron-selective contact; and a plurality of nanorods located in the plurality of contact vias, the plurality of nanorods providing ohmic contacts between the hole-selective contact and the different electrode metal at their interface at a bottom of each contact via, and comprising at least a residual of at least one surfactant and at least a residual of at least one minority alloy constituent.

Techniques for enhancing the absorption of photons in semiconductors with the use of microstructures are described. The microstructures, such as pillars and/or holes, effectively increase the effective absorption length resulting in a greater absorption of the photons. Using microstructures for absorption enhancement for silicon photodiodes and silicon avalanche photodiodes can result in bandwidths in excess of 10 Gb/s at photons with wavelengths of 850 nm, and with quantum efficiencies of approximately 90% or more.

An object of the present invention is to provide an infrared sensor having a high TCR value, and a method for manufacturing the infrared sensor. The infrared sensor comprises a substrate, a first electrode on the substrate, a second electrode spaced from the first electrode on the substrate, and a carbon nanotube layer electrically connected with the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein the carbon nanotube layer comprises semiconducting carbon nanotubes in an amount more than 66% by mass based on the total amount of carbon nanotubes and 60% or more of the carbon nanotubes contained in the carbon nanotube layer have a diameter within a range of 0.6 to 1.5 nm and a length within a range of 100 nm to 5 m.

An electrical connection is formed between first and second conductive elements, by inserting a nano-metal material between the first and second conductive elements; and heating the nano-metal material to a melting temperature to form the electrical connection between the first and second conductive elements. The nano-metal material may comprise a nano-metal paste or ink comprised of one or more of Gold (Au), Copper (Cu), Silver (Ag), and/or Aluminum (Al) nano-particles that melt or fuse into a solid to form the electrical connection, at a melting temperature of about 150-250 degrees C., and more preferably, about 175-225 degrees C. The electrical connection may be formed between a solar cell and a substrate by creating a via in the solar cell between a front and back side of the solar cell, wherein the via is connected to a contact on the front side of the solar cell and a trace on the substrate.

Preparation of two-dimensional indium selenide, other two-dimensional materials and related compositions via surfactant-free deoxygenated co-solvent systems.

Systems and methods of non-epitaxial high Schottky barriers heterojunction solar cells are described. The high Schottky barriers heterojunction solar cells are formed using non-epitaxial methods to reduce fabrication costs and improve scalability.

There is a method for forming a semiconductor nanostructure on a substrate. The method includes placing a substrate and a semiconductor material in a pulsed laser deposition chamber; selecting parameters including a fluence of a laser beam, a pressure P inside the chamber, a temperature T of the substrate, a distance d between the semiconductor material and the substrate, and a gas molecule diameter a.sub.0 of a gas to be placed inside the chamber so that conditions for a Stranski-Krastanov nucleation are created; and applying the laser beam with the selected fluence to the semiconductor material to form a plume of the semiconductor material. The selected parameters determine the formation, from the plume, of (1) a nanolayer that covers the substrate, (2) a polycrystalline wetting layer over the nanolayer, and (3) a single-crystal nanofeature over the polycrystalline wetting layer, and the single-crystal nanofeature is grown free of any catalyst or seeding layer.

Photovoltaic devices, and methods of fabricating photovoltaic devices. The photovoltaic devices may include a first electrode, at least one quantum dot layer, at least one semiconductor layer, and a second electrode. The first electrode may include a layer including Cr and one or more silver contacts.