We report the growth and characterization of record‐efficiency ZnO/CdS/CuInGaSe2 thin‐film solar cells. Conversion efficiencies exceeding 19% have been achieved for the first time, and this result indicates that the 20% goal is within reach. Details of the experimental procedures are provided, and material and device characterization data are presented. Published in 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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A photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 40.8% at 326 suns concentration is demonstrated in a monolithically grown, triple-junction III–V solar cell structure in which each active junction is composed of an alloy with a different lattice constant chosen to maximize the theoretical efficiency. The semiconductor structure was grown by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy in an inverted configuration with a 1.83 eV Ga.51In.49P top junction lattice-matched to the GaAs substrate, a metamorphic 1.34 eV In.04Ga.96As middle junction, and a metamorphic 0.89 eV In.37Ga.63As bottom junction. The two metamorphic junctions contained approximately 1×105 cm−2 and 2–3×106 cm−2 threading dislocations, respectively.

The authors demonstrate a thin, Ge-free III–V semiconductor triple-junction solar cell device structure that achieved 33.8%, 30.6%, and 38.9% efficiencies under the standard 1sun global spectrum, space spectrum, and concentrated direct spectrum at 81suns, respectively. The device consists of 1.8eV Ga0.5In0.5P, 1.4eV GaAs, and 1.0eV In0.3Ga0.7As p-n junctions grown monolithically in an inverted configuration on GaAs substrates by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy. The lattice-mismatched In0.3Ga0.7As junction was grown last on a graded GaxIn1−xP buffer. The substrate was removed after the structure was mounted to a structural “handle.” The current-matched, series-connected junctions produced a total open-circuit voltage over 2.95V at 1sun.

The first examples of unrestrained asymmetric silver(i) and halonium complexes have been prepared and characterised.

Learning to stabilize palladium dimers Catalyst optimization is often difficult to do rationally. Once something works, it may be unclear which specific features underpin the performance. A case in point is the stabilization of palladium(I) dimers, which has relied on a very small class of phosphine ligands. Hueffel et al . used machine learning to search for patterns in this known class of ligands and thereby guide the discovery of variants that likewise stabilize the dimers. The authors were able to synthesize eight previously unreported dimers. —JSY

The high cost of wafers suitable for epitaxial deposition of III-V solar cells has been a primary barrier to widespread use of these cells in low-concentration and one-sun terrestrial solar applications. A possible solution is to reuse the substrate many times, thus spreading its cost across many cells. We performed a bottom-up techno-economic analysis of three different strategies for substrate reuse in high-volume manufacturing: epitaxial lift-off, spalling, and the use of a porous germanium release layer. The analysis shows that the potential cost reduction resulting from substrate reuse is limited in all three strategies--not by the number of reuse cycles achievable, but by the costs that are incurred in each cycle to prepare the substrate for another epitaxial deposition. The dominant substrate-preparation cost component is different for each of the three strategies, and the cost-ranking of these strategies is subject to change if future developments substantially reduce the cost of epitaxial deposition.

Neutral halogen‐bonded O−I−N complexes were prepared from in situ formed carbonyl hypoiodites and aromatic organic bases. The carbonyl hypoiodites have a strongly polarized iodine atom with larger σ‐holes than any known uncharged halogen bond donor. Modulating the Lewis basicity of the selected pyridine derivatives and carboxylates leads to halogen‐bonded complexes where the classical O−I⋅⋅⋅N halogen bond transforms more into a halogen‐bonded COO−⋅⋅⋅I−N+ ion‐pair (salt) with an asymmetric O−I−N moiety. X‐ray analyses, NMR studies, and calculations reveal the halogen bonding geometries of the carbonyl hypoiodite‐based O−I−N complexes, confirming that in the solid‐state the iodine atom is much closer to the N‐atom of the pyridine derivatives than its original position at the carboxylate O‐atom.