Energy harvesting efficiency of III–V triple-junction concentrator solar cells under realistic spectral conditions

Philipps, Simon P.; Peharz, Gerhard; Hoheisel, R.; Hornung, Andreas; Al-Abbadi, Naif; Dimroth, Frank; Bett, Andreas W.

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2010.01.010

Cited by 127 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Solar cell designer have proposed mainly two possibilities: to choose the adequate combination of bandgaps between subcells (for example, using metamorphic 3J solar cell [13][14], or quantum dots [15] or tuning the thickness of the top subcell to split the available irradiance between the top and middle subcells [9,21].…”

Section: Strategies To Trim the Current Ratio To Maximize Energy Harvmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regarding the first issue, several authors have tackled the problem of analyzing the effect of spectral variations on the energy annually produced by multijunction solar cells [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Some of them have proposed to use a certain spectrum, different from AM1.5D, or they have determined the optimum combination of subcell bandgaps that maximizes the energy harvesting.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of them have proposed to use a certain spectrum, different from AM1.5D, or they have determined the optimum combination of subcell bandgaps that maximizes the energy harvesting. The articles cited above neglect the effect of the optics on the spectral distribution of the light reaching the solar cell, most of them assume a cell temperature higher that 25ºC, and they use modeled spectra, some of them based on SMARTS [13][14][15][16], to generate different spectra along the year that are used as inputs for their modeling. Other authors are focused on predicting the power output and energy generation of a certain CPV system and, in order to do that, they model the influence of the spectral variations on the solar cell together with the optics [17,18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Tuning the current ratio of a CPV system to maximize the energy harvesting in a particular location

Victoria

Askins

Núñez

et al. 2013

AIP Conference Proceedings

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:A method based on experimental data is proposed to optimize the energy harvesting of a silicone-on-glass Fresnel-lens based CPV system. It takes into account the spectral variations along the year in a particular location as well as the thermal and spectral sensitivities of the optics and solar cell. In addition, different alternatives to tune the top/middle subcells current ratio in a CPV module are analyzed and their capacity to maximize the annually produced energy is quantified.

show abstract

Section: Strategies To Trim the Current Ratio To Maximize Energy Harvmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Tuning the current ratio of a CPV system to maximize the energy harvesting in a particular location

Victoria

Askins

Núñez

et al. 2013

AIP Conference Proceedings

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Thus, lower bandgaps for the upper two cells could increase the overall current but would also lower the voltage. Calculations show that higher theoretical efficiencies and higher energy yields can be achieved [18,22]. Such a bandgap combination can be realized by increasing the In content in Ga x In 1-x As and Ga y In 1-y P. However, as the lattice constant also increases, direct growth of these materials on top of the Ge bottom cell causes threading dislocations and poor material quality.…”

Section: Upright Metamorphic Growth On Gementioning

confidence: 99%

III-V Multi-junction solar cells and concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) systems

Philipps

Bett

2014

Advanced Optical Technologies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It has been proven that the only realistic path to practical ultra-high efficiency solar cells is the monolithic multi-junction approach, i.e., to stack pn-junctions made of different semiconductor materials on top of each other. Each sub pn-junction, i.e., sub solar cell, converts a specific part of the sun's spectrum. In this way, the energy of the sunlight photons is converted with low thermalization losses. However, largearea multi-junction solar cells are still far too expensive if applied in standard PV modules. A viable solution to solve the cost issue is to use tiny solar cells in combination with optical concentrating technology, in particular, high concentrating photovoltaics (HCPV), in which the light is concentrated over the solar cells more than 500 times. The combination of ultra-high efficient solar cells and optical concentration lead to low cost on system level and eventually to low levelized cost of electricity, today, well below 8 �cent/kWh and, in the near future, below 5 �cent/kWh. A wide variety of approaches exists for III-V multi-junction solar cells and HCPV systems. This article is intended to provide an overview about the different routes being followed.

show abstract

“…Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a transparent polymer material commonly used as a Fresnel lens substrate, it exhibits high absorption in the infrared region of the spectrum and is optically opaque below around 380nm, leading to a reduction in light available to the cell in these regions of the spectrum . Currently, best practice is to optimize the thickness of the top two cells of a triple junction stack such that current matching occurs in the top two subcells at STC [2], with excess current generated into the bottom subcell. Thus any deviation from an incident AM1.5d spectrum will generate mismatch between the top two subcells and degrade the efficiency of the cell.…”

Section: Transient Distribution Of Spectral Irradiance With Modificatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling of multijunction cell temperature distributions subject to realistic operating conditions

Sharpe¹,

Eames²

2013

AIP Conference Proceedings

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:In order to predict the energy output of multijunction cells during operation, it is necessary to model the cell subject to the operating conditions imposed on it by the system it operates within as well as the physical environment in which the system resides. A finite difference based model to predict the temperature distribution within a multijunction cell and heat sinking arrangement as part of a realistic CPV system design has been developed. To provide inputs to the thermal model, ray trace simulations were performed to characterize the distribution of flux at the cell surface for a range of realistic spectra and differing optical alignment conditions. The model was then used to calculate the amount of heat generated within the cell for a range of spectral and DNI conditions. A description of the finite difference model and results of the described analyses are presented herein.

show abstract

Energy harvesting efficiency of III–V triple-junction concentrator solar cells under realistic spectral conditions

Cited by 127 publications

References 27 publications

Tuning the current ratio of a CPV system to maximize the energy harvesting in a particular location

Tuning the current ratio of a CPV system to maximize the energy harvesting in a particular location

III-V Multi-junction solar cells and concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) systems

Modelling of multijunction cell temperature distributions subject to realistic operating conditions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About