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Exploitation of solar energy conversion has become a fundamental aspect of satisfying a growing demand for energy. Thus, improvement of the efficiency of conversion in photovoltaic (PV) devices is highly desirable to further promote this source. Because it is well known that the most relevant efficiency constraint, especially for single-junction solar cells, is unused heat within the device, hybrid thermo-photovoltaic systems seem promising . Among several hybrid solutions proposed in the literature, coupling of thermoelectric and PV devices seems one of the most interesting. Taking full advantage of this technology requires proper definition and analysis of the thermal losses occurring in PV cells. In this communication we propose a novel analysis of such losses, decoupling source-dependent and absorber-dependent losses. This analysis enables an evaluation of the actual recoverable amount of energy, depending on the absorber used in the PV cell. It shows that for incoming solar irradiation of $$1000\,\hbox {W}/\hbox {m}^{2}$$ , and depending on the choice of material, the maximum available thermal power ranges from $$380\,\hbox {W}/\hbox {m}^{2}$$ (for single-crystal silicon) to $$130\,\hbox {W}/\hbox {m}^{2}$$ (for amorphous silicon).

Hole-containing silicon has been regarded as a viable candidate thermoelectric material because of its low thermal conductivity. However, because voids are efficient scattering centers not just for phonons but also for charge carriers, achievable power factors (PFs) are normally too low for its most common form, i.e. porous silicon, to be of practical interest. In this communication we report that high PFs can, indeed, be achieved with nanoporous structures obtained from highly doped silicon. High PFs, up to a huge 22 mW K-2 m(-1) (more than six times higher than values for the bulk material), were observed for heavily boron-doped nanocrystalline silicon films in which nanovoids (NVs) were generated by He+ ion implantation. In contrast with single-crystalline silicon in which He+ implantation leads to large voids, in polycrystalline films implantation followed by annealing at 1000A degrees C results in homogeneous distribution of NVs with final diameters of approximately 2 nm and densities of the order of 10(19) cm(-3) with average spacing of 10 nm. Study of its morphology revealed silicon nanograins 50 nm in diameter coated with 5-nm precipitates of SiB (x) . We recently reported that PFs up to 15 mW K-2 m(-1) could be achieved for silicon-boron nanocomposites (without NVs) because of a simultaneous increase of electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient. In that case, the high Seebeck coefficient was achieved as a result of potential barriers on the grain boundaries, and high electrical conductivity was achieved as a result of extremely high levels of doping. The additional increase in the PF observed in the presence of NVs (which also include SiB (x) precipitates) might have several possible explanations; these are currently under investigation. Experimental results are reported which might clarify the reason for this paradoxical effect of NVs on silicon PF.

In this work we perform a theoretical analysis of the thermoelectric performance of polycrystalline Si nanowires (NWs) by considering both electron and phonon transport. The simulations are calibrated with experimental data from monocrystalline and polycrystalline structures. We show that heavily doped polycrystalline NW structures with grain size below 100 nm might offer an alternative approach to achieve simultaneous thermal conductivity reduction and power factor improvements through improvements in the Seebeck coefficient. We find that deviations from the homogeneity of the channel and/or reduction in the diameter may provide strong reduction in the thermal conductivity. Interestingly, our calculations show that the Seebeck coefficient and consequently the power factor can be improved significantly once the polycrystalline geometry is properly optimized, while avoiding strong reduction in the electrical conductivity. In such a way, ZT values even higher than the ones reported for monocrystalline Si NWs can be achieved.