Third generation solar cells : modeling and simulation

The aim of this Master thesis work is the development and the implementation of computational models for third-generation solar cells. The thesis is organized in six chapters whose content is shortly described below. Chapter 1 contains a brief presentation of renewable energies market, solar power in general followed by an introduction to the two main families of third generation cells, namely Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) and Organic Solar Cells (OSCs). In Chapter 2 the physical phenomena driving the operation of DSSCs are presented in detail and two mathematical models are proposed for them. Chapter 3 is devoted to introduce the basic physics of OSCs. Two model are proposed for different types of morphologies along with several parameter models. Chapter 4 describes the mathematical methods used to discretize and to solve the equations of the models. In Chapter 5 the numerical results of the simulations are described for both DSSCs and OSCs, considering different operating conditions and parameter values. Finally in Chapter 6 some conclusions and perspectives for future activities are presented.