Voltage losses due to the perimeter and dark area in micro-concentrator solar cells

Wiesenfarth, Maike; Steiner, Marc; Helmers, Henning; Bett, Andreas W.

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2020.110791

Cited by 14 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The Δ V OC observed due to size difference, and so perimeter recombination effect, is 3.8% under one sun and falls down to 1.1% under ~970 suns (obtained by interpolation). This effect is attributed to a saturation effect of perimeter states that makes recombination less significant under high concentration 24 . Using flash tests in open‐circuit conditions at LN2, similar trends were observed for cells with mesa area ranging from 12.25 to 0.076 mm 2 (see Appendix ).…”

Section: Cell Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 55%

“…Surface recombination along the side‐wall perimeter is known to have a greater performance impact on solar cells with a high perimeter‐to‐area ratio (i.e., very small cells), mostly due to a high density of surface states (i.e., >10 13 cm −2 ) 19 . The role of perimeter recombination in cells, which particularly affects their voltage, was studied in single junction, 20–22 in the subcells that compose a three‐junction cell, 23 and in three‐junction structures 11,12,24 . An effective reduction of GaAs surface states density can be obtained by sulfur passivation, plasma treatments, or atomic layer deposition (ALD) 25 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An effective reduction of GaAs surface states density can be obtained by sulfur passivation, plasma treatments, or atomic layer deposition (ALD) 25 . In addition, Ref 24 . showed that front contact pads used for typical wirebonding assembly utilize a considerable fraction of the microcells area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Miniaturization of InGaP/InGaAs/Ge solar cells for micro‐concentrator photovoltaics

Albert

Jaouad

Hamon

et al. 2021

Progress in Photovoltaics

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Micro‐concentrator photovoltaic (CPV), incorporating micro‐scale solar cells within concentrator photovoltaic modules, promises an inexpensive and highly efficient technology that can mitigate the drawbacks that impede standard CPV, such as resistive power losses. In this paper, we fabricate micro‐scale multijunction solar cells designed for micro‐CPV applications. A generic process flow, including plasma etching steps, was developed for the fabrication of complete InGaP/InGaAs/Ge microcells with rectangular, circular, and hexagonal active areas down to 0.089 mm2 (0.068‐mm2 mesa). Large cells (>1 mm2) demonstrate good electrical performance under one sun AM1.5D illumination, but a degradation in the open‐circuit voltage (VOC) is observed on the smallest cells. This effect is attributed to perimeter recombination for which a passivation effect by the antireflective coating partially recovers the VOC. The VOC penalty for small cells is also reduced under high‐intensity illumination, from 3.8% under sun to 1.0% at 974 suns. High intensity illumination yields an efficiency of 33.8% under 584 suns for a 0.25‐mm2 and microcells are expected to show higher efficiency than standard cells under very high concentration.

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Section: Cell Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 55%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Miniaturization of InGaP/InGaAs/Ge solar cells for micro‐concentrator photovoltaics

Albert

Jaouad

Hamon

et al. 2021

Progress in Photovoltaics

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show abstract

“…One could also envision interconnections to be as large as the cell mesas to further reduce their resistive effect. Moreover, the absence of large busbars reduces the dark current generation due to the shading, which may be limiting for small‐dimension cells 20 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three‐junction monolithic interconnected modules for concentrator photovoltaics

Albert

Jaouad

Hamon

et al. 2021

Progress in Photovoltaics

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A core issue in concentrator photovoltaic technology (CPV) is the resistive losses in cells that usually limits the maximum photoconversion efficiency under high concentration. We propose the use of three‐junction monolithic interconnected modules (MIM) to mitigate resistive losses by providing high‐voltage low‐current power. First, we present the fabrication of InGaP/InGaAs/Ge front‐contacted microcells with various designs and dimensions. Front‐contacted cells are the key enabler for the MIM fabrication and demonstrate good electrical characteristics under one sun, similar to standard‐contacted cells. The base front contact size is minimized to limit the unutilized area on the wafer. Second, fabrication techniques for interconnecting cells in MIM are described. Finally, electrical measurements show a record conversion efficiency of 35.1% under 798 suns for the first three‐junction MIM reported (17.8% when considering the entire device area). Versatility and further optimization of the devices are discussed to enlarge their field of application.

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“…The solar cell performance is affected by recombinations at the sidewalls of the cells (perimeter recombination) [de Lafontaine et al (2021a); Espinet-Gonzalez et al (2014); Belghachi and Khelifi (2006)]. Understanding these mechanisms is especially important considering the fact that the performance loss increases when the cell dimension is reduced towards the submillimetric range needed for micro-concentrator photovoltaics (Micro-CPV) [Espinet-Gonzalez et al (2014); Belghachi and Khelifi (2006); Albert et al (2021); Wiesenfarth et al (2020)]. One can expect the cell performance to depend on the sidewall fabrication method, herein, the mesa isolation etching.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multijunction solar cell mesa isolation: Correlation between process, morphology and cell performance

Lafontaine

Ayari

Pargon

et al. 2022

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

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Voltage losses due to the perimeter and dark area in micro-concentrator solar cells

Cited by 14 publications

References 16 publications

Miniaturization of InGaP/InGaAs/Ge solar cells for micro‐concentrator photovoltaics

Miniaturization of InGaP/InGaAs/Ge solar cells for micro‐concentrator photovoltaics

Three‐junction monolithic interconnected modules for concentrator photovoltaics

Multijunction solar cell mesa isolation: Correlation between process, morphology and cell performance

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