Four-junction Cell Research Articles

Maximizing Electric Power through Spectral-Splitting Photovoltaic-Thermoelectric Hybrid System Integrated with Radiative Cooling.

As zero-emission technologies, a daytime radiative cooling (RC) strategy developed recently, and photovoltaic (PV) and thermoelectric (TE) technologies have aroused great interest to reduce fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions. How to integrate these state-of-the-art technologies to maximise clean electricity from the sun and space remains a huge challenge, and the limit efficiency is still unclear. In this study, a spectral-splitting PV-TE hybrid system integrated with RC is proposed to maximise clean electricity from the sun and space without any emissions. For the sun acting as a typical constant heat-flux heat source, the current thermoelectric theory overestimates the thermoelectric efficiency highly since the theory is based on constant temperature-difference conditions. A new theory based on heat-flux conditions is employed to achieve maximum thermoelectric efficiency. The PV-TE hybrid system with RC is superior to the conventional hybrid system, not only in terms of higher efficiency but also in its 24-h operation capacity. In a system with a single-junction cell, the total efficiency with 30 suns (39.4%) is higher than the theoretical PV efficiency at 500 suns (38.2%). In a hybrid system with four-junction cells, total efficiency is over 65% which is superior to most current photoelectric and thermal power systems.

Development and Analysis of Wafer-Bonded Four-Junction Solar Cells Based on Antimonides With 42% Efficiency Under Concentration

The highest solar cell efficiencies today are reached with four-junction devices under concentrated illumination. The optimal bandgap combination for realistic four-junction cells is modelled to be 1.89/1.42/1.05/0.68 eV and indeed promises for efficiencies >50%. We present the development and analysis of a wafer-bonded four-junction solar cell based on GaInP/GaAs/GaInAs//GaInAsSb. This concept allows for the implementation of these ideal bandgaps and exhibits at present an efficiency of 42.0±2.5% at a concentration of 599× AM1.5d. The present loss mechanisms in this device are analyzed, which are dominated by current losses due to mismatched subcell currents and absorbing passive layers. Under the assumption of proper current matching, this device would achieve an efficiency above 44%.

Development of Germanium-Based Wafer-Bonded Four-Junction Solar Cells

Multijunction solar cells with four junctions are expected to be the next-generation technology for both space and concentrator photovoltaic applications. Most commercial triple-junction solar cells are today grown on germanium, which also forms the bottom subcell. Extending this concept to four junctions with an additional ∼1-eV subcell was proven to be challenging. We investigate a new cell concept, which uses direct wafer bonding to combine a metamorphic GaInAs/Ge bottom tandem solar cell with a GaInP/AlGaAs top tandem on GaAs resulting in a monolithic four-junction cell on germanium. This article summarizes results of the cell developments, which have been resulting in a four-junction concentrator cell with 42% efficiency. We implemented a new passivated Ge backside technology to enhance the current generation in the Ge junction, and we propose realistic steps to realize solar cells with 45% efficiency using this cell architecture.

Electron irradiation study of room-temperature wafer-bonded four-junction solar cell grown by MBE

For application in space environments, the effect of 1-MeV electron irradiation on wafer-bonded GaInP/GaAs//InGaAsP/InGaAs four-junction solar cell grown by all solid state molecular beam epitaxy was studied. After exposure to 1-MeV electron irradiation at 1×15 e/cm2, an end of life remaining factor of approximately 85% was obtained. The wafer bonding interface was studied by spectral response and transmission electron microscopy. 1-MeV electron irradiation was conducted on the individual InGaAsP and InGaAs single junction cell, respectively. The degradation of the four-junction cell was mainly due to damage on the InGaAsP and InGaAs subcells rather than the bonding interface.

Design of thin InGaAsN(Sb) n - i - p junctions for use in four-junction concentrating photovoltaic devices

Four-junction solar cells for space and terrestrial applications require a junction with a band gap of ∼1 eV for optimal performance. InGaAsN or InGaAsN(Sb) dilute nitride junctions have been demonstrated for this purpose, but in achieving the 14 mA/cm2 short-circuit current needed to match typical GaInP and GaAs junctions, the open-circuit voltage (VOC) and fill factor of these junctions are compromised. In multijunction devices incorporating materials with short diffusion lengths, we study the use of thin junctions to minimize sensitivity to varying material quality and ensure adequate transmission into lower junctions. An n-i-p device with 0.65-μm absorber thickness has sufficient short-circuit current, however, it relies less heavily on field-aided collection than a device with a 1-μm absorber. Our standard cell fabrication process, which includes a rapid thermal anneal of the contacts, yields a significant improvement in diffusion length and device performance. By optimizing a four-junction cell around a smaller 1-sun short-circuit current of 12.5 mA/cm2, we produced an InGaAsN(Sb) junction with open-circuit voltage of 0.44 V at 1000 suns (1 sun=100 mW/cm2), diode ideality factor of 1.4, and sufficient light transmission to allow >12.5 mA/cm2 in all four subcells.

Status of Four-Junction Cell Development at Fraunhofer ISE

Four-junction solar cells are being developed for space applications as they promise higher efficiencies compared to the present GaInP/GaInAs/Ge triple-junction industry standard. There are multiple technological routes to achieve four-junction cells with the ideal bandgap combination of 1.9 eV, 1.4 eV 1.05 eV and 0.7 eV. This includes metamorphic growth concepts and direct semiconductor wafer bonded technology. All cell designs have their specific advantages and challenges. Therefore, at Fraunhofer ISE a plurality of different four-junction cell concepts is under investigation. The current status of the development and a discussion of so far achieved characteristics are presented in this work.

Advances in High-Efficiency III-V Multijunction Solar Cells

The high efficiency of multijunction concentrator cells has the potential to revolutionize the cost structure of photovoltaic electricity generation. Advances in the design of metamorphic subcells to reduce carrier recombination and increase voltage, wide-band-gap tunnel junctions capable of operating at high concentration, metamorphic buffers to transition from the substrate lattice constant to that of the epitaxial subcells, concentrator cell AR coating and grid design, and integration into 3-junction cells with current-matched subcells under the terrestrial spectrum have resulted in new heights in solar cell performance. A metamorphic Ga0.44In0.56P/Ga0.92In0.08As/ Ge 3-junction solar cell from this research has reached a record 40.7% efficiency at 240 suns, under the standard reporting spectrum for terrestrial concentrator cells (AM1.5 direct, low-AOD, 24.0 W/cm2, 25∘C), and experimental lattice-matched 3-junction cells have now also achieved over 40% efficiency, with 40.1% measured at 135 suns. This metamorphic 3-junction device is the first solar cell to reach over 40% in efficiency, and has the highest solar conversion efficiency for any type of photovoltaic cell developed to date. Solar cells with more junctions offer the potential for still higher efficiencies to be reached. Four-junction cells limited by radiative recombination can reach over 58% in principle, and practical 4-junction cell efficiencies over 46% are possible with the right combination of band gaps, taking into account series resistance and gridline shadowing. Many of the optimum band gaps for maximum energy conversion can be accessed with metamorphic semiconductor materials. The lower current in cells with 4 or more junctions, resulting in lower I2R resistive power loss, is a particularly significant advantage in concentrator PV systems. Prototype 4-junction terrestrial concentrator cells have been grown by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy, with preliminary measured efficiency of 35.7% under the AM1.5 direct terrestrial solar spectrum at 256 suns.

Characterization and modeling of InGaAs/InAsP thermophotovoltaic converters under high illumination intensities

Thermophotovoltaic converters based on In0.69Ga0.31As/InAs0.34P0.66 have been fabricated, characterized experimentally, and modeled. Good device performance has been achieved with an open-circuit voltage of 1.46 V, short-circuit current density of 1.06 A/cm2, and a fill factor of 71.3% for a four-junction cell under an optical power density of 3.4 W/cm2. Key material parameters have been extracted from measured device characteristics, providing a detailed quantitative understanding of the dependence of device performance on the electro-optical properties of the InGaAs/InAsP material system. Extracted minority carrier lifetimes of 106 ns in the p-type base and 0.3 ns in the n-type emitter regions were obtained, limited by radiative and Auger recombination, respectively. The recombination velocity for the InGaAs/InAsP interface is found to be below 2000 cm/s. The parameter analysis provides guidance for the design of a high-efficiency monolithically integrated module for use under high illumination intensities.

Breakeven criteria for the GaInNAs junction in GaInP/GaAs/GaInNAs/Ge four‐junction solar cells

AbstractThe four‐junction GaInP/GaAs/GaInNAs/Ge solar cell structure holds the promise of efficiencies exceeding those of the GaInP/GaAs/Ge three‐junction cell, which at present is the benchmark for high‐efficiency multijunction cell performance. The performance of GaInNAs junctions demonstrated to date has been insufficient for the realization of these projected efficiency gains, owing to poor minority‐carrier properties in the GaInNAs. However, incremental improvements in the GaInNAs junctions have brought this breakeven point within sight. In this paper, we use a semiempirical approach to estimate the efficiency of the GaInP/GaAs/GaInNAs/Ge four‐junction solar cell structure as a function of the performance parameters of the GaInNAs third junction. The results provide guidance on the extent to which the current and voltage of present‐day GaInNAs junctions will need to be improved in order for the resulting four‐junction cell to realize its potential for efficiencies higher than that of GaInP/GaAs/Ge benchmark. Published in 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.