High-efficiency thin and compact concentrator photovoltaics with micro-solar cells directly attached to a lens array

Abstract

We propose a thin and compact concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) module, about 20 mm thick, one tenth thinner than those of conventional CPVs that are widely deployed for mega-solar systems, to broaden CPV application scenarios. We achieved an energy conversion efficiency of 37.1% at a module temperature of 25 °C under sunlight irradiation optimized for our module. Our CPV module has a lens array consisting of 10 mm-square unit lenses and micro solar cells that are directly attached to the lens array, to reduce the focal length of the concentrator and to reduce optical losses due to reflection. The optical loss of the lens in our module is about 9.0%, which is lower than that of conventional CPV modules with secondary optics. This low optical loss enables our CPV module to achieve a high energy conversion efficiency.

Optimization of the Secondary Optical Element of a Hybrid Concentrator Photovoltaic Module Considering the Effective Absorption Wavelength Range

“…The angle at which sunlight refracts from the primary optical element (POE) of the hybrid CPV module depends on the wavelength, which creates chromatic aberration [22]. In addition, infrared rays with wavelengths above 1.3 µm are not absorbed in either TJ solar cells or silicon solar cells, due to current limits in the top cell and limited semiconductor bandgap energy, respectively.…”

Thin-film micro-concentrator solar cells

“…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.…”

Uydu Güç Sistemlerindeki Güneş Hücrelerine Yönelik Uzay Kalifiye Mikro Lens Dizilerin Geliştirilmesi

“…Yüzey profili silindirik, dairesel ve altıgen gibi çeşitli geometrik şekillerde olabilmektedir. Bu tasarımda Zemax gibi kaplama ve lens programları kullanılarak lens yüzeyine düşen ışığın geçen, yansıyan miktarları ve yüzeyde oluşturduğu görüntü belirlenmektedir [20]. Güneş hücrelerinin üzerindeki kontaklar, üzerine düşen ışığı yansıtmaktadır [8].…”