Is conversion efficiency still relevant to qualify advanced multi-junction solar cells?
For better conversion of sunlight into electricity, advanced architectures of multi-junction (MJ) solar cells include increasing numbers of subcells. The Achilles’ heel of these cells lies in their increased sensitivity to the spectral distribution of sunlight, which is likely to significantly alter...
| Authors: | ; ; ; ; |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Status: | Accepted version |
| Publication date: | 2017 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya) |
| Repository: | Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:recercat.cat:10459.1/59070 |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.2853 http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/59070 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Multi-junction Solar cell CPV Energy yield Solar spectrum |
| _version_ | 1878736371434127360 |
|---|---|
| author | Vossier, Alexis |
| author2 | Riverola Lacasta, Alberto Chemisana Villegas, Daniel Dollet, Alain Gueymard, Christian A. |
| author2_role | author author author author |
| author_browse | Chemisana Villegas, Daniel Dollet, Alain Gueymard, Christian A. Riverola Lacasta, Alberto Vossier, Alexis |
| author_facet | Vossier, Alexis Riverola Lacasta, Alberto Chemisana Villegas, Daniel Dollet, Alain Gueymard, Christian A. |
| author_role | author |
| collection | Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya |
| description | For better conversion of sunlight into electricity, advanced architectures of multi-junction (MJ) solar cells include increasing numbers of subcells. The Achilles’ heel of these cells lies in their increased sensitivity to the spectral distribution of sunlight, which is likely to significantly alter their performance during real working operation. This study investigates the capacity of MJ solar cells comprising up to 10 subcells to accommodate a wide range of spectral characteristics of the incident radiation. A systematic study is performed, aimed at a realistic estimation of the energy output of MJ-based concentrating photovoltaic systems at characteristic locations selected to represent a large range of climatic conditions. We show that optimal MJ architectures could have between 4 and 7 subcells. Beyond seven subcells, the slight gains in peak efficiency are likely outweighed by detrimental increases in dependence on local conditions and in annual yield variability. The relevance of considering either conversion efficiency or modeled energy output as the most appropriate indicator of the cell performance, when considering advanced architectures of MJ solar cells, is also discussed. |
| eu_rights_str_mv | openAccess |
| format | article |
| id | ES_8ddab4233d1dc50f8ada0c3c19d197fc |
| institution | Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya) |
| instname_str | Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya) |
| network_acronym_str | ES |
| network_name_str | España |
| oai_identifier_str | oai:recercat.cat:10459.1/59070 |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| publisherStr | Wiley |
| reponame_str | Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya |
| spelling | Is conversion efficiency still relevant to qualify advanced multi-junction solar cells? Vossier, Alexis Riverola Lacasta, Alberto Chemisana Villegas, Daniel Dollet, Alain Gueymard, Christian A. Multi-junction Solar cell CPV Energy yield Solar spectrum For better conversion of sunlight into electricity, advanced architectures of multi-junction (MJ) solar cells include increasing numbers of subcells. The Achilles’ heel of these cells lies in their increased sensitivity to the spectral distribution of sunlight, which is likely to significantly alter their performance during real working operation. This study investigates the capacity of MJ solar cells comprising up to 10 subcells to accommodate a wide range of spectral characteristics of the incident radiation. A systematic study is performed, aimed at a realistic estimation of the energy output of MJ-based concentrating photovoltaic systems at characteristic locations selected to represent a large range of climatic conditions. We show that optimal MJ architectures could have between 4 and 7 subcells. Beyond seven subcells, the slight gains in peak efficiency are likely outweighed by detrimental increases in dependence on local conditions and in annual yield variability. The relevance of considering either conversion efficiency or modeled energy output as the most appropriate indicator of the cell performance, when considering advanced architectures of MJ solar cells, is also discussed. This work was supported in part by the Program “Investment for the Future” of the National Agency for Research of the French State under award number ANR-10-LABX-22-01-SOLSTICE and by “Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad” of Spain under grant numbers ENE2013-48325-R and BES-2014-069596. Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.2853 http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/59070 |
| spellingShingle | Is conversion efficiency still relevant to qualify advanced multi-junction solar cells? Vossier, Alexis Multi-junction Solar cell CPV Energy yield Solar spectrum |
| status_str | acceptedVersion |
| title | Is conversion efficiency still relevant to qualify advanced multi-junction solar cells? |
| title_full | Is conversion efficiency still relevant to qualify advanced multi-junction solar cells? |
| title_fullStr | Is conversion efficiency still relevant to qualify advanced multi-junction solar cells? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is conversion efficiency still relevant to qualify advanced multi-junction solar cells? |
| title_short | Is conversion efficiency still relevant to qualify advanced multi-junction solar cells? |
| title_sort | Is conversion efficiency still relevant to qualify advanced multi-junction solar cells? |
| topic | Multi-junction Solar cell CPV Energy yield Solar spectrum |
| topic_facet | Multi-junction Solar cell CPV Energy yield Solar spectrum |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.2853 http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/59070 |