1064 nm InGaAsP multi-junction laser power converters

Laser photovoltaic devices converting 1064 nm light energy into electric energy present a promising prospect in wireless energy transmission due to the commercial availability of high power 1064 nm lasers with very small divergence. Besides their high conversion efficiency, a high output voltage is also expected in a laser energy transmission system. Meanwhile,1064 nm InGaAsP multi-junction laser power converters have been developed using p^+-InGaAs/n^+-InGaAs tunnel junctions to connect sub-cells in series to obtain a high output voltage. The triple-junction laser power converter structures are grown on p-type InP substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition(MOCVD), and InGaAsP laser power converters are fabricated by conventional photovoltaic device processing. The room-temperature I–V measurements show that the 1 × 1 cm^2 triplejunction InGaAsP laser power converters demonstrate a conversion efficiency of 32.6% at a power density of 1.1 W/cm^2, with an open-circuit voltage of 2.16 V and a fill factor of 0.74. In this paper, the characteristics of the laser power converters are analyzed and ways to improve the conversion efficiency are discussed.

On the Path to High-Temperature Josephson Multi-Junction Devices

We report our progress in the high-temperature superconductor(HTS)Josephson junction fabrication process founded on utilizing a focused helium ion beam damaging technique and discuss the expected device performance attainable with the HTS multi-junction device technology.Both the achievable high value of characteristic voltage V_(C)=I_(C)R_(N)of Josephson junctions and the ability to design a large number of arbitrary located Josephson junctions allow narrowing the existing gap in design abilities for lowtemperature superconductor(LTS)and HTS circuits even with using a single YBa_(2)Cu_(3)O_(7-x) film layer.A one-layer topology of active electrically small antenna is suggested and its voltage response characteristics are considered.

AC Recombination Velocity in the Back Surface of a Lamella Silicon Solar Cell under Temperature

The ac recombination velocity of the excess minority carriers, in the back surface of a silicon solar cell with a vertical junction connected in series, is developed through Einstein’s law giving the diffusion coefficient of minority carriers according to temperature, through mobility. The frequency spectrum of both, amplitude and phase, are produced for the diffusion coefficient and the recombination velocity in the rear face, in order to identify the parameters of equivalent electric models.

Overview of Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) Cells

Previous studies have shown that renewable energy is one of the effective ways to fight global climate change and emissions not to mention the increasing price of fossil fuels. Among the various renewable energy sources which include wind, solar, biofuel, geothermal and tidal waves, solar power has attracted much attention especially here in Africa because of the abundance of solar radiation. A lot of studies have been done on various photovoltaic (PV) cells ranging from silicon to thin film and most recently multi-junction solar cells. In this paper, we focused on concentrated photovoltaic cells (CPV) which are promising ways of converting solar energy to electricity. It is expected that if the most cost effective ways of converting solar energy to electricity is used, both the cost of installation and the running cost of concentrated photovoltaic cells will equate the utility grid electricity cost in a few years to come.

Role of PV-Powered Vehicles in Low-Carbon Society and Some Approaches of High-Efficiency Solar Cell Modules for Cars

Development of highly-efficient photovoltaic (PV) modules and expanding its application fields are significant for the further development of PV technologies and realization of innovative green energy infrastructure based on PV. Especially, development of solar-powered vehicles as a new application is highly desired and very important for this end. This paper presents the impact of PV cell/module conversion efficiency on reduction in CO2 emission and increase in driving range of the electric based vehicles. Our studies show that the utilization of a highly-efficient (higher than 30%) PV module enables the solar-powered vehicle to drive 30 km/day without charging in the case of light weight cars with electric mileage of 17 km/kWh under solar irradiation of 3.7 kWh/m2/day, which means that the majority of the family cars in Japan can run only by the sunlight without supplying fossil fuels. Thus, it is essential to develop high-efficiency as well as low-cost solar cells and modules for automotive applications. The analytical results developed by the authors for conversion efficiency potential of various solar cells for choosing candidates of the PV modules for automotive applications are shown. Then we overview the conversion efficiency potential and recent progress of various Si tandem solar cells, such as III-V/Si, II-VI/Si, chalcopyrite/Si, and perovskite/Si tandem solar cells. The III-V/Si tandem solar cells are expected to have a high potential for various applications because of its high conversion efficiency of larger than 36% for dual-junction and 42% for triple-junction solar cells under 1-sun AM1.5 G illumination, lightweight and low-cost potentials. The analysis shows that III-V based multi-junction and Si based tandem solar cells are considered to be promising candidates for the automotive application. Finally, we report recent results for our 28.2% efficiency and Sharp’s 33% mechanically stacked InGaP/GaAs/Si triple-junction solar cell. In addition, new approaches which are suitable for automotive applications by using III-V triple-junction, and static low concentrator PV modules are also presented.

Approaches for High-Efficiency III-V/Si Tandem Solar Cells

The Si tandem solar cells are very attractive for realizing high efficiency and low cost. This paper overviews current status of III-V/Si tandem solar cells including our results. The analytical results for efficiency potential of Si tandem solar cells and loss analysis of Si bottom cells as well as bandgap energy optimization of sub-cells are presented. The 2-junction and 3-junction Si tandem solar cells have potential efficiencies of 36% and 42%, respectively. ERE (external radiative efficiency) analysis for Si solar cells is analyzed in order to clarify properties of Si bottom solar cells. Properties of single-crystalline Si heterojunction solar cell fabricated in this study were analyzed. The current status of efficiencies of our Si bottom cell, upper III-V 2-junction solar cell and III-V/Si 3-junction tandem solar cell was shown to be 5.2% and 28.6% and 33.8%. Achievement of Jsc of 12 mA/cm2 for Si bottom cell is necessary to realize high-efficiency 3-junction Si tandem solar cells with an efficiency of more than 37%. In addition, this paper presents ERE analysis of III-V 2-junction upper solar cells for improving III-V/Si 3-junction tandem solar cells. Several ways to improve efficiency of III-V/Si 3-junction tandem solar cells by reducing non-radiative recombination, optical and resistance losses are shown.

The effect of InAs quantum-dot size and interdot distance on GaInP/GaAs/GaInAs/Ge multi-junction tandem solar cells

A metamorphic GaInP/GaAs/GaInAs/Ge multi-junction solar cell with InAs quantum dots is investigated, and the analytical expression of the energy conversion efficiency on the multi-junction tandem solar cell is derived using the detailed balance principle and the Kronig-Penney model.The influences of interdot distance, quantum-dot size and the intermediate band location on the energy conversion efficiency are studied.This shows that the maximum efficiency,as a function of quantum-dot size and distance,is about 60.15%under the maximum concentration for only one InAs/GaAs subcell,and is even up to 39.69%for the overall cell.In addition,other efficiency factors such as current mismatch,the formation of a quasicontinuum conduction band and concentrated light are examined.