High efficiency micro solar cells integrated with lens array

Fidaner, Onur; Suarez, Ferran; Wiemer, Michael; Sabnis, V.A.; Asano, Tetsuya; Itou, Akihiro; Inoue, Daijiro; Hayashi, Nobuhiko; Arase, Hidekazu; Matsushita, Akio; Nakagawa, Tohru

doi:10.1063/1.4868116

Cited by 26 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…6c. Supported by the development of multijunction tandem microcells with demonstrated efficiency exceeding 40% 21,22 , the embedded microtracking approach described here may provide a new path for efficient, compact and inexpensive photovoltaic power.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wide-angle planar microtracking for quasi-static microcell concentrating photovoltaics

Price

Sheng

Meulblok³

et al. 2015

Nat Commun

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Concentrating photovoltaics offer a way to lower the cost of solar power. However, the existing paradigm based on precise orientation of large-area concentrator modules towards the Sun limits their deployment to large, open land areas. Here, we explore an alternate approach using high-efficiency microcell photovoltaics embedded between a pair of plastic lenslet arrays to demonstrate quasi-static concentrating photovoltaic panels o1 cm thick that accomplish full-day tracking with 4200x flux concentration ratio through small (o1 cm) lateral translation at fixed latitude tilt. Per unit of installed land area, cosine projection loss for fixed microtracking concentrating photovoltaic panels is ultimately offset by improved ground coverage relative to their conventional dual-axis counterparts, enabling a B1.9x increase in daily energy output that may open up a new opportunity for compact, high-efficiency concentrating photovoltaics to be installed on rooftops and other limited-space urban environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wide-angle planar microtracking for quasi-static microcell concentrating photovoltaics

Price

Sheng

Meulblok³

et al. 2015

Nat Commun

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“…In fact, the approach followed here would only be affected in terms of metallisation grid losses if different solar cell sizes were to be analysed. Although perimeter recombination increases in small solar cells (especially in GaAs ), its impact is not a limiting factor at high concentrations . All simulations were performed at 25 °C because of the fact that heat extraction (and then, temperature) is strongly dependent on the thermal management strategy offered by the CPV module and the lack of material parameters at high temperatures for the modelling to be accurate (i.e.…”

Section: Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limiting factors on the semiconductor structure of III-V multijunction solar cells for ultra-high concentration (1000-5000 suns)

Ochoa

Barrigón

Barrutia

et al. 2016

Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl.

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Inverted metamorphic multi-junction solar cells have reached efficiencies close to 46%. These solar cells contain very highquality materials that exhibit strong luminescent coupling between the junctions. The presence of luminescent coupling has a significant impact on the behavior of multi-junction solar cells affecting the optimal design of these devices. Because of the importance of studying devices under real operating conditions, the temperature dependence of the luminescent coupling is analyzed over a range of 25-120°C. Luminescent coupling analysis results show a reduction of the luminescent coupling current as a function of temperature in two tandem components of an inverted metamorphic triple junction solar cell such as GalnP/GaAs and GaAs/GalnAs solar cells. This reduction is quantified and examined by means of luminescent coupling analysis and modeling, electroluminescence measurements and optical modeling at the device and subcell level. The results of the models are verified and discussed.

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“…Although microsystems that integrate concentration optical arrays with micro diameter solar cells have been applied to multi-junction solar cells [58,59], up to now, only very little work has been presented on integrated CIGSe micro-concentrator solar cells with a dedicated optical system [29,60] integrated with a microlens array with CIGSe micro solar cells fabricated by the top-down approach described above [28]. A prototype consisting of a combination of primary lenses and secondary optics was fabricated.…”

Section: Cigse Micro Solar Cells With Integrated Concentration Opticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thin-film micro-concentrator solar cells

et al. 2019

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Photovoltaic (PV) energy conversion of sunlight into electricity is now a well-established technology and a strong further expansion of PV will be seen in the future to answer the increasing demand for clean and renewable energy. Concentrator PV (CPV) employs optical elements to concentrate sunlight onto small solar cells, offering the possibility of replacing expensive solar cells with more economic optical elements, and higher device power conversion efficiencies. While CPV has mainly been explored for highly efficient single-crystalline and multi-junction solar cells, the combination of thinfilm solar cells with the concentration approach opens up new horizons in CPV. Typical fabrication of thin-film solar cells can be modified for efficient, high-throughput and parallel production of organized arrays of micro solar cells. Their combination with microlens arrays promises to deliver micro-concentrator solar modules with a similar form factor to present day flat-panel PV. Such thinfilm micro-concentrator PV modules would use significantly less semiconductor solar cell material (reducing the use of critical raw materials) and lead to a higher energy production (by means of concentrated sunlight), with the potential to lead to a lower levelized cost of electricity. This review article gives an overview of the present state-of-the-art in the fabrication of thin-film micro solar cells based on Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 absorber materials and introduces optical concentration systems that can be combined to build the future thin-film micro-concentrator PV technology.

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High efficiency micro solar cells integrated with lens array

Cited by 26 publications

References 17 publications

Wide-angle planar microtracking for quasi-static microcell concentrating photovoltaics

Wide-angle planar microtracking for quasi-static microcell concentrating photovoltaics

Limiting factors on the semiconductor structure of III-V multijunction solar cells for ultra-high concentration (1000-5000 suns)

Thin-film micro-concentrator solar cells

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