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    Very High Efficiency Solar Cells Presentation

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    moustafa refaey
    This document outlines approaches to developing ultra-high efficiency solar cells with 55% efficiency. It discusses 6 approaches to achieve higher efficiencies, including multiple junctions, spectra, absorption, energy levels, temperatures, and AC solar cells. The document also describes the benefits of integrated optics and cell designs, as well as novel vertical and lateral multi-junction architectures being researched at ANU to optimize band gaps and cell grouping. It concludes by discussing a newly formed consortium between DuPont and University of Delaware, with ANU joining to develop high efficiency silicon platforms aimed at commercial production by 2010.

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    Very High Efficiency Solar Cells Presentation

    Uploaded by

    moustafa refaey
    22 views20 pages
    This document outlines approaches to developing ultra-high efficiency solar cells with 55% efficiency. It discusses 6 approaches to achieve higher efficiencies, including multiple junctions, spectra, absorption, energy levels, temperatures, and AC solar cells. The document also describes the benefits of integrated optics and cell designs, as well as novel vertical and lateral multi-junction architectures being researched at ANU to optimize band gaps and cell grouping. It concludes by discussing a newly formed consortium between DuPont and University of Delaware, with ANU joining to develop high efficiency silicon platforms aimed at commercial production by 2010.

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    Very High Efficiency Solar Cells presentation

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    This document outlines approaches to developing ultra-high efficiency solar cells with 55% efficiency. It discusses 6 approaches to achieve higher efficiencies, including multiple junctions, spectra, absorption, energy levels, temperatures, and AC solar cells. The document also describes the benefits of integrated optics and cell designs, as well as novel vertical and lateral multi-junction architectures being researched at ANU to optimize band gaps and cell grouping. It concludes by discussing a newly formed consortium between DuPont and University of Delaware, with ANU joining to develop high efficiency silicon platforms aimed at commercial production by 2010.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    22 views20 pages

    Very High Efficiency Solar Cells Presentation

    Uploaded by

    moustafa refaey
    This document outlines approaches to developing ultra-high efficiency solar cells with 55% efficiency. It discusses 6 approaches to achieve higher efficiencies, including multiple junctions, spectra, absorption, energy levels, temperatures, and AC solar cells. The document also describes the benefits of integrated optics and cell designs, as well as novel vertical and lateral multi-junction architectures being researched at ANU to optimize band gaps and cell grouping. It concludes by discussing a newly formed consortium between DuPont and University of Delaware, with ANU joining to develop high efficiency silicon platforms aimed at commercial production by 2010.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 20

    Towards a 55% Efficient Solar

    Cell

    Vernie Everett, Andrew Blakers,


    Klaus Weber, Evan Franklin

    Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems


    Outline
    ‰ Purpose of the work
    ‰ Background to the Project
    ‰ Approaches to Ultra-high Efficiency
    ‰ Architecture – Integrated cells and optics
    ‰ ANU Work – report to date
    ‰ Outlook
    ‰ Conclusion
    Purpose of the work
    ‰ Ultra-high efficiency devices are a major
    step forward in the development of low-
    cost solar PV technology
    ‰ Commercial applications, energy security,
    GHG abatement, industry development
    ‰ Military applications, pollution reduction
    ‰ Potential trigger to revolutionise global
    electricity generation
    Background
    ‰ Six basic approaches to Ultra-high efficiency:

    ƒ Multiple junction
    ƒ Multiple spectrum
    ƒ Multiple absorption
    ƒ Multiple energy level
    ƒ Multiple temperature
    ƒ AC solar cells
    Background
    ‰ Solar cell efficiencies are approaching their
    practical efficiency limits

    Single junction: 25% eff. in Si or GaAs


    Tandem: 38% for 3-stack under concentration

    ‰ For single junction cells these efficiencies


    correspond to about 85%, and for concentrator
    and tandem cells about 70%, of practical (or
    material-imposed) efficiency limits
    Background
    100

    90 Thermodynamic Limit
    80

    70
    Ultra-high efficiency devices
    Efficiency (%)

    60

    50

    40 Tandems

    30

    20
    Conventional Silicon
    10
    0
    2007 Time
    Background

    Excess energy of absorbed photons


    over and above the bandgap is lost
    Intensity

    Band gap energy

    Low energy photons lost


    Maximum
    harvestable
    energy

    Wavelength
    Background

    Excess energy of absorbed photons


    over and above the bandgap is lost
    Intensity

    Band gap energy

    Low energy photons lost

    Maximum
    Harvestable tandem energy

    Wavelength
    Background
    Clearly, no single approach will succeed.
    ‰ VHESC approach integrates optics,
    interconnects, and cell designs.
    ‰ Benefits:
    ƒ Increased “design space”
    ƒ Increased theoretical efficiency
    ƒ Introduces options for new architectures
    ƒ Greater device design flexibility
    ƒ Reduced spectral mismatch losses
    ƒ Increased materials choices
    Background
    ‰ Low concentration advantages:

    ƒ Logarithmic dependence of eff. on conc.


    ƒ Junctions reduced from 9 to 5
    ƒ Releases surface area
    ƒ Allows integrated optics
    ƒ Allows novel cell architectures
    ƒ Cells are less sensitive to defects
    Background
    ‰ Lateral Architecture:

    ƒ Splits light into spectral components


    ƒ Allows spectral optimisation of devices
    ƒ Avoids many materials constraints
    ƒ Eliminates lattice matching requirements
    ƒ Minimises spectral mismatch losses
    Background
    ‰ Vertical Architecture:

    ƒ Independently contactable vertical junctions


    ƒ Avoids current-matching issues
    ƒ Increases materials choices
    ƒ Avoids spectral mismatch losses
    Architecture: Optimising band gaps
    20 Suns 100 Suns

    IEEE Barnett et al 2006


    Architecture: Integrating PV and optics

    IEEE Barnett et al 2006


    Architecture: Cell grouping

    IEEE Barnett et al 2006


    Architecture: Hybrid lateral/vertical

    IEEE Barnett et al 2006


    ANU: Vertical multi-junction Si stack

    VMJ cell stack IV curve


    Stacked 7 Cells (With mask) IV Curve

    0
    -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6
    -0.002

    -0.004 0.5 sun


    1 sun

    Isc
    -0.006
    1.5 sun
    2mm thick VMJ cells with high IQE -0.008 2 sun
    -0.01

    -0.012
    Voc
    VMJ Silicon cell stack
    Outlook
    ‰ Newly-formed DuPont-University of Delaware
    consortium
    ‰ Substantial funding from DARPA
    ‰ Team approach: more than 20 members
    ‰ Multiple pathways for development and
    optimisation
    ‰ Higher concentration/tracking tradeoff for
    efficiency and optimisation
    ‰ ANU recently joined the consortium to develop
    the Silicon platform
    ‰High efficiency modules “could be in
    commercial production by 2010”
    Thank you!

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