Is it CPV? Yes, but it is a partial CPV

Abstract

Abstract. III-V on Si cell is one of the most promising candidates of the low-cost and high-efficiency solar cell beyond the limit of Si cells. However, it is likely that the cost of III-V cell will keep greater than that of Si cells. The partial concentrator technology was invented to concentrate the sunlight onto smaller III-V cells on the Si cell with the increased acceptance angle for static concentrator operation. The partial concentrator allows on-axis optical loss but expands the apparent acceptance angle often beyond the thermodynamic limit. The spilled light will be saved and collected by the bottom Si cell. It is not just placing the Si cell around the concentrated III-V cell, but its design philosophy is "partially" collecting the sunlight to the III-V cell to expand the acceptance. Depending on the values of cost parameters, the cost of the partial CPV module becomes minimum at 4 x -10 x of concentration onto the top III-V cell, meaning that the area of expensive III-V cell can be saved to 1/4 -1/10. In the partial concentrator. There may be a better optics than the ideal concentrator. The partial concentrator can be applied not only to III-V on Si cells but also III-V "by" Si cells. This lateral configuration does not have as excellent efficiency as the III-V on Si cell, but the usage of III-V cell is only several percents of the Si cell and has good similarity on the conventional Si flat-plate module technology.

Output evaluation of a world’s highest efficiency flat sub module with InGaP/GaAs/InGaAs inverted triple-junction solar cell under outdoor operation

“…11,12) In concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems with multijunction solar cells, 13,14) their spectral distribution markedly affected their output because the subcells in multijunction solar cells are connected in series. [15][16][17][18] In indoor measurements, such as that under the standard test condition, the artificial spectrum is stable and uses the standard spectrum of AM1.5D ASTM G173-03. 19) The structures of multijunction solar cells are designed to be optimized when using the standard spectrum of AM1.5D.…”

Analysis of Climate Conditions upon Driving Distance of Vehicle Integrated Photovoltaics‐Powered Vehicles

“…Developing a vehicle powered by an on‐board photovoltaics (PV) module [ 1–9 ] is desirable and essential for reducing CO 2 emissions. In our previous paper, the Toyota Prius demonstration car has shown a 36.6 km day −1 PV‐powered driving range at solar irradiation of 6.2 kWh m −2 day −1 .…”

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

“…CPV modules are highly efficient power generators in high-direct normal irradiance (DNI) regions near the equator, but less effective in the global normal irradiance (GNI) mid-latitude regions, where these modules do not perform as well as flat photovoltaic (PV) modules. To overcome these limitations, several researchers have studied hybrid CPV modules that combine a CPV module with low-cost PV modules [13][14][15][16], since these hybrid CPV architectures can collect sunlight in modest-DNI regions, which allows the same solar module design regardless of region. In addition, hybrid CPV modules can maximize power generation in the high-DNI regions without requiring as much volume, since they absorb scattered light more efficiently [11].…”