The Luminescent Solar Concentrator (LSC) consists of a transparent polymer plate, containing luminescent particles. Solar cells are connected to one or more edges of the polymer plate. Incident light is absorbed by the luminescent particles and re-emitted. Part of the light emitted by the luminescent particles is guided towards the solar cells by total internal reflection. Since the edge area is smaller than the receiving one, this allows for concentration of sunlight without the need for solar tracking. External Quantum Efficiency (EQE) and current-voltage (I-V) measurements were performed on LSC devices with multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) or GaAs cells attached to the sides. The best result was obtained for an LSC with four GaAs cell power conversion efficiency of this device, as measured at European Solar Test Installation laboratories, was 7.1% (geometrical concentration of a factor 2.5). With one GaAs cell attached to one edge only, the power efficiency was still as high as 4.6% (geometrical concentration of a factor 10). To our knowledge these efficiencies are among. the highest reported for the LSC
Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) generally consist of transparent polymer sheets doped with luminescent species. Incident sunlight is absorbed by the luminescent species and emitted with high quantum efficiency, such that emitted light is trapped in the sheet and travels to the edges where it can be collected by solar cells. LSCs offer potentially lower cost per Wp. This paper reviews results mainly obtained within the framework of the Fullspectrum project. Two modeling approaches are presented, i.e., a thermodynamic and a ray-trace one, as well as experimental results, with a focus on LSC stability.
Current bottlenecks for industrialization of Al2O3 deposited by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) for crystalline silicon solar cell applications are low growth rate and stability of thin and uncapped layers during co-firing. First results on the performance of a high throughput ALD prototype , the Levitrack, are presented. Excellent passivation properties have been obtained after firing, for 12 nm thick films deposited on p-Cz (2.3 Ω.cm) with Seff <15cm/s (∆n=3x10 15 cm-3). These layers are compatible with solar cells that operate at a maximum open-circuit voltage of 720mV. Furthermore, we report on the passivation of 20nm uncapped aluminum oxide layers on the rear of ptype mc-Si bifacial cells. LBIC measurements unveiled excellent passivation properties on areas covered by 20nm of Al2O3 characterized by an IQE of 91% at 980nm. Remarkably, these lifetime and cell results were obtained without lengthy post-treatments like forming gas anneal.
The performance of thin-film CIGS modules is often limited due to inhomogeneities in CIGS layers. A 2-dimensional Finite Element Model for CIGS modules is demonstrated that predicts the impact of such inhomogeneities on the module performance. Results are presented of a module with a region of poor diode characteristics. It is concluded that according to this model the effects of poor diodes depend strongly on their location in the module and on their dispersion over the module surface. Due to its generic character the model can also be applied to other series connections of photovoltaic cells.
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