Development of a high-band gap high temperature III-nitride solar cell for integration with concentrated solar power technology

Williams, J.R.; McFavilen, Heather; Fischer, Alec M.; Ding, Ding; Young, Steven R.; Vadiee, Ehsan; Ponce, Fernando; Arena, C.; Honsberg, Christiana B.; Goodnick, Stephen M.

doi:10.1109/pvsc.2016.7749576

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As the temperature increases, the peak EQEs of the nonpolar InGaN solar cell continuously increase from ∼32% at 25 °C to ∼81% at 450 °C. This is distinct from previous reports, , as most solar cells show a large degradation in EQE with increasing temperatures. Previous reports on polar InGaN solar cells have also shown that EQE performance degraded as temperature rose. , Furthermore, the cutoff wavelengths in the EQE spectral of the nonpolar InGaN solar cells increase dramatically as the temperature increases (i.e., from ∼435 nm at 25 °C to ∼480 nm at 450 °C), due to the bandgap narrowing at high temperatures.…”

Section: High-temperature Characterizations Of the Nonpolar Ingan/gan...contrasting

confidence: 99%

High-Temperature Polarization-Free III-Nitride Solar Cells with Self-Cooling Effects

Huang

et al. 2019

ACS Photonics

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

High-temperature photovoltaics (PV) for terrestrial and extraterrestrial applications have presented demanding challenges for current solar cell materials, such as Si, III−V AlGaInP, and II−VI. Widebandgap III-nitride materials, in contrast, offer several intrinsic advantages that make them extremely appealing for high-temperature applications. In this study, we fabricated and characterized III-nitride solar cells using polarization-free (i.e., nonpolar) InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs). The InGaN solar cells showed a large working temperature range from room temperature (RT) to 450 °C, with positive temperature coefficients up to 350 °C. The peak external quantum efficiencies of the devices showed a 2.5-fold enhancement from RT (∼32%) to 450 °C (∼81%), which is distinct from all other solar cells ever reported. This can be partially attributed to an increase of over 70% in carrier lifetime in nonpolar InGaN MQWs obtained from time-resolved photoluminescence. Furthermore, a thermal radiation analysis revealed a unique self-cooling effect for III-nitride materials, which also helps enhance device performance at high temperature. These results offer new insights and strategies for the design and fabrication of highefficiency high-temperature PV cells.

show abstract

Section: High-temperature Characterizations Of the Nonpolar Ingan/gan...contrasting

confidence: 99%

High-Temperature Polarization-Free III-Nitride Solar Cells with Self-Cooling Effects

Huang

et al. 2019

ACS Photonics

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Moreover, most of them are stable at relatively high temperatures and harsh environments. [75,76] This has been demonstrated by the successful accomplishment of III-nitrides on silicon-based tandem solar cells [77] and nitride-based solar cells on free-standing GaN. [78] Already small amounts of nitrogen incorporation enable lattice-matched growth of GaP 0.98 N 0.02 on Si(100) with suitable bandgaps for direct photoelectrolysis [79] and increased stability toward the electrolyte.…”

Section: Advanced Photoabsorbers and Photovoltaic Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integration of Multijunction Absorbers and Catalysts for Efficient Solar‐Driven Artificial Leaf Structures: A Physical and Materials Science Perspective

Hannappel,

Shekarabi,

Jaegermann

et al. 2024

Solar RRL

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Artificial leaves could be the breakthrough technology to overcome the limitations of storage and mobility through the synthesis of chemical fuels from sunlight, which will be an essential component of a sustainable future energy system. However, the realization of efficient solar‐driven artificial leaf structures requires integrated specialized materials such as semiconductor absorbers, catalysts, interfacial passivation, and contact layers. To date, no competitive system has emerged due to a lack of scientific understanding, knowledge‐based design rules, and scalable engineering strategies. Here, we will discuss competitive artificial leaf devices for water splitting, focusing on multi‐absorber structures to achieve solar‐to‐hydrogen conversion efficiencies exceeding 15%. A key challenge is integrating photovoltaic and electrochemical functionalities in a single device. Additionally, optimal electrocatalysts for intermittent operation at photocurrent densities of 10‐20 mA cm‐2 must be immobilized on the absorbers with specifically designed interfacial passivation and contact layers, so‐called buried junctions. This minimizes voltage and current losses and prevents corrosive side reactions. Key challenges include understanding elementary steps, identifying suitable materials, and developing synthesis and processing techniques for all integrated components. This is crucial for efficient, robust, and scalable devices. Here, we discuss and report on corresponding research efforts to produce green hydrogen with unassisted solar‐driven (photo‐)electrochemical devices.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

show abstract

“…MQWs can be valuable in the subcells comprising MJ PVs because their bandgap can be tailored to near‐optimal values while maintaining lattice‐matching. Equally significant for this study is that the magnitude of the temperature coefficient of cell efficiency can be lessened considerably 14–18 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Making the InGaN/GaN layers a few nanometers thick helps avoid grain formation while improving material quality and PV performance 16 . These cells are promising for high‐temperature hybrid solar thermal‐PV power plants and as a power source for near‐sun space missions 14–18 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

InGaN/GaN multi‐quantum‐well solar cells under high solar concentration and elevated temperatures for hybrid solar thermal‐photovoltaic power plants

Moses

Huang

Zhao

et al. 2020

Progress in Photovoltaics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hybrid solar electricity generation combines the high efficiency of photovoltaics (PVs) with the dispatchability of solar thermal power plants. Recent thermodynamic analyses have shown that the most efficient strategy constitutes an integrated concentrating PV-thermal absorber operating at high solar concentration and at the high temperatures suitable to efficient commercial steam turbines ($673-873 K). The recuperation of PV thermalization losses and the exploitation of sub-bandgap photons can more than compensate for the inherent decrease of PV efficiency with temperature in properly tailored tandem solar cells for which promising candidates are III-N alloys. Recently, there have been considerable efforts to develop apposite InGaN solar cells by producing InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) as the top cell in a tandem PV device that would absorb the short-wavelength regime of the solar spectrum, while sub-bandgap photons and PV thermalization are absorbed in the thermal receiver. We present measurements of current-voltage curves and external quantum efficiency spectra for InGaN/GaN MQW solar cells under high sunlight intensity, up to 1 W/mm 2 (1000 suns) and elevated temperature, up to 723 K. We find that the short-circuit current increases significantly with temperature, while the magnitude of the temperature coefficient of the open-circuit voltage decreases with solar concentration according to basic photodiode theory. Conversion efficiency peaks at 623-723 K under $300 suns, with no perceptible worsening in cell performance under extensive temperature and irradiance cycling-an encouraging finding in the quest for high-temperature high-irradiance cells. K E Y W O R D S concentrator photovoltaics, efficiency temperature coefficient, hybrid solar thermalphotovoltaic, InGaN/GaN, multiple quantum well 1 | INTRODUCTION Essentially, all large-scale solar electricity production installed to date comprises one of two technologies: concentrated solar power (CSP) or photovoltaics (PVs). In CSP (5.5 GW peak installed as of 2018), 1 concentrated sunlight heats a collector fluid that then generates the steam used in conventional turbines. CSP yearly-average conversion efficiencies ($14-18%) are essentially the same as those achieved by

show abstract

Development of a high-band gap high temperature III-nitride solar cell for integration with concentrated solar power technology

Cited by 12 publications

References 14 publications

High-Temperature Polarization-Free III-Nitride Solar Cells with Self-Cooling Effects

High-Temperature Polarization-Free III-Nitride Solar Cells with Self-Cooling Effects

Integration of Multijunction Absorbers and Catalysts for Efficient Solar‐Driven Artificial Leaf Structures: A Physical and Materials Science Perspective

InGaN/GaN multi‐quantum‐well solar cells under high solar concentration and elevated temperatures for hybrid solar thermal‐photovoltaic power plants

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About