Design and development of three dimensional solar cells

• Main Author: Chua, Bryan Jing Liang
• Other Authors: Rusli
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/157372
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Energy generation is a big field of study, and it has traditionally been done through the use of fossil fuels. However, fossil fuels take a long time to be formed deep beneath the Earth’s crust and the rate we are using them is higher than the rate at which they are forming. The burning of fossil fuels also gives rise to the increase in production of greenhouse gases which also negatively affects our environment. Thus, it is clear that the use of fossil fuels for the purpose of energy generation is not sustainable and we must hence find alternative energy sources that are sustainable without a negative impact on our environment. Solar energy is thus explored and harnessed as such an alternative source of energy generation and it has been adopted in many countries around the world, including Singapore. The adoption of solar photovoltaic energy does not come without its challenges which include the requirement for sufficient available open area for its installation. This challenge is especially tough for a country such as Singapore due to our small physical area of 716.1 km2 and particularly high population density of 7485 people/km2. The current widespread method of adopting and implementing solar photovoltaic energy is through the use of two dimensional flat solar panels, which further exacerbates the constraints on area requirements. In this project, the design and development of three dimensional solar cells will be studied to attempt to improve the energy generation given a fixed area. These studies will be done with the cost of implementing three dimensional solar cells taken into consideration. Particularly, the energy generation cost of implementing three dimensional solar cells will be compared against that of two dimensional solar cells. Specifically, the designs of the inverted U structure with variations of the panels at various angles and cardinal directions will be studied against the control set-up of a flat two dimensional solar panel.