Spectral sensitivity of hot carrier solar cells

Abstract

In this paper we present detailed balance simulations which determine the material parameters required to produce hot carrier solar cell (HCSC) annual energy yields comparable with that of multi-junction (MJ) systems. We demonstrate that HCSCs are less spectrally sensitive than equivalent MJ devices providing significant motivation for pursuing their development. Spectral variation in a given location over the course of the day and throughout the year means that the HCSC provides more consistent power production. The HCSC can also be developed for a standard reference spectrum and still perform optimally in a variety of locations with different atmospheric conditions, unlike the location sensitive performance of MJ devices. We show that an ideal hot carrier solar cell with bandgap 0.69eV under 2000× concentration would require a thermalization coefficient <0.1WK−1cm−2 to produce more power over the course of the year than an InGaP/GaAs/Ge triple junction device located at Solar Village in Saudi Arabia. The lowest experimentally demonstrated thermalization coefficient is 9.5WK−1cm−2 indicating that further materials development is required to achieve this target.