Very high efficiency solar cell modules

Barnett, Allen; Kirkpatrick, Douglas; Honsberg, Christiana B.; Moore, Duncan T.; Wanlass, M. W.; Emery, Keith; Schwartz, R. J.; Carlson, Dave; Bowden, Stuart; Aiken, D.; Gray, A.L.; Kurtz, Sarah; Kazmerski, L. L.; Steiner, Myles A.; Gray, J.L.; Davenport, Tom; Buelow, Roger; Takacs, Laszlo; Shatz, Narkis; Bortz, John C.; Jani, Omkar; Goossen, K.W.; Kiamilev, Fouad; Doolittle, A.; Ferguson, Ian T.; Unger, Blair; Schmidt, Greg; Christensen, Eric L.; Salzman, David B.

doi:10.1002/pip.852

Cited by 185 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…A collaborative US team based on a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) program are working on a novel type of solar cell module with sunlight spectral splitting by dichroic filters and independently located cells with varied bandgap energies [42,43]. In this architecture, each cell will receive a fraction of the solar spectrum most efficiently absorbed and converted into electrical power and can avoid the current-matching issue among subcells and free carrier absorption loss [44][45][46] in upper subcells for monolithic devices.…”

Section: Developments Of Multijunction Iii-v Solar Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Ultrahigh Efficiency III-V Semiconductor Compound Solar Cells: Multijunction Tandem, Lower Dimensional, Photonic Up/Down Conversion and Plasmonic Nanometallic Structures

Tanabe

2009

Energies

155

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Solar cells are a promising renewable, carbon-free electric energy resource to address the fossil fuel shortage and global warming. Energy conversion efficiencies around 40% have been recently achieved in laboratories using III-V semiconductor compounds as photovoltaic materials. This article reviews the efforts and accomplishments made for higher efficiency III-V semiconductor compound solar cells, specifically with multijunction tandem, lower-dimensional, photonic up/down conversion, and plasmonic metallic structures. Technological strategies for further performance improvement from the most efficient (Al)InGaP/(In)GaAs/Ge triple-junction cells including the search for 1.0 eV bandgap semiconductors are discussed. Lower-dimensional systems such as quantum well and dot structures are being intensively studied to realize multiple exciton generation and multiple photon absorption to break the conventional efficiency limit. Implementation of plasmonic metallic nanostructures manipulating photonic energy flow directions to enhance sunlight absorption in thin photovoltaic semiconductor materials is also emerging.

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Section: Developments Of Multijunction Iii-v Solar Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Ultrahigh Efficiency III-V Semiconductor Compound Solar Cells: Multijunction Tandem, Lower Dimensional, Photonic Up/Down Conversion and Plasmonic Nanometallic Structures

Tanabe

2009

Energies

155

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“…Для решения указанных вы-ше проблем разрабатываются системы со спектральным расще-плением солнечного излучения с последующим преобразованием пространственно−разнесенных лучей однопереходными солнеч-ными элементами [5][6][7][8]. Приме-нение принципа спектрального расщепления света обеспечивает свободу выбора полупроводни-ковых материалов и позволяет создавать каскад из элементов с различной шири-ной запрещенной зоны на основе структур с одним p-n−переходом, позволяя существенно расширить спектральный диапазон преобразования солнечного излучения в электричество и в конечном счете до-биться увеличения КПД.…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Photoconverters in Solar Splitting System

Курин¹,

Доронин²,

Antipov³

et al. 2015

Izv. vysš. učebn. zaved., Mater. èlektron. teh.

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“…An approach which combines the concepts illustrated in Figures 4a and 4b is being followed in a current research programme using two tandem cells one of which filters the radiation with the remaining flux being incident on a silicon cell 21 . By using a static concentrator and a dichroic prism designed to have an optical efficiency of 93% in combination with GaInP/GaAs + Si and GaInAsP/GaInAs diodes the sum of the outputs from the cells (not connected in series and optimised independently) amounted to 42.9% .…”

Section: Physically Separate Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photovoltaic Power Generation: The Impact of Nano-Materials

Peaker¹,

Маркевич

2008

MSF

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Solar power is seen by many as a solution to the world’s energy problems. The earth receives 1.7x1017W from the sun compared to a total electricity generation capacity of 4.6x1012W (OECD prediction for 2010). However the average power density is low with a daytime average over the earth of 680Wm-2. This makes centralised generation problematic but distributed photoelectric generation by domestic and commercial users is a rapidly developing market. However typical commercially available modules have an energy conversion efficiency of less than 12%. Silicon cells with 24% efficiency have been produced in the lab while multi-junction tandem cells using different semiconductor materials (GaInAs, GaInP and Ge) to absorb different parts of the sun’s spectrum have reached 40%. This chapter describes some of the materials and device achievements so far and looks at possible ways in which higher efficiencies might be achieved with particular emphasis on nano-materials to use more of the solar spectrum efficiently. The possibility of using quantum slicing and multiple exciton generation to make more efficient use of high energy photons is considered and impurity band generation as a possible route to use low energy photons. One of the greatest challenges is to do this cheaply using semiconductors made from non-toxic abundant elements.

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Very high efficiency solar cell modules

Cited by 185 publications

References 16 publications

A Review of Ultrahigh Efficiency III-V Semiconductor Compound Solar Cells: Multijunction Tandem, Lower Dimensional, Photonic Up/Down Conversion and Plasmonic Nanometallic Structures

A Review of Ultrahigh Efficiency III-V Semiconductor Compound Solar Cells: Multijunction Tandem, Lower Dimensional, Photonic Up/Down Conversion and Plasmonic Nanometallic Structures

Photoconverters in Solar Splitting System

Photovoltaic Power Generation: The Impact of Nano-Materials

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