Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy‘s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers they created a solar cell with an efficient record of 39.5% less than 1 solar light. This is the most efficient solar cell, measured using standard 1 solar conditions. “The new cell is very efficient and has a simple design that can be useful for a variety of new applications, such as highly restricted applications in the area or applications for low-radiation space,” said Myles Steiner, a senior scientist at NREL’s High-Efficiency. Crystalline Photovoltaics (PV) Team and chief investigator for the project. He has worked with NREL colleagues Ryan France, John Geisz, Tao Song, Waldo Olavarria, Michelle Young, and Alan Kibbler.
The details of the development are described in the paper “Three-dimensional solar cells with 39.5% of the earth’s surface and 34.2% efficient in the atmosphere are powered by dense quantum superlattices,” from the May issue of Joule magazine.NREL scientists previously recorded history by 2020 with a 39.2% efficient six-component cell using III-V materials.
Best solar cells
Several of the latest best solar cells are based on the inverted metamorphic multijunction (IMM) formulation developed at NREL. This IMM solar triple junction solar cell has now been added to the Best Cell-Based Research Chart. The chart, which shows the success of experimental solar cells, includes an IMM record of the previous three-quarters of 37.9% developed in 2013 by Sharp Corporation of Japan.
The development of efficiency follows the study of “quantum solar” cells, which use many very thin layers to modify solar cell structures. Scientists have developed a highly efficient quantum solar cell that has never before been used and used it in a three-piece machine with different bandgaps, where each compound is tuned to capture and use a separate piece of solar spectrum.The III-V materials, so named because of where they fall into the periodic table, pull out a wide band of gaps that allow them to direct different parts of the solar spectrum. The upper junction is made up of gallium indium phosphide (GaInP), medium-sized gallium arsenide (GaAs) with quantum sources, and a low gallium indium arsenide (GaInAs) that is not compatible with lattice. Each asset has been greatly improved over the decades of research.
Quantum source devices without significant power
“An important factor is that although GaAs is a very good and commonly used cell in the III-V multijunction cells, it does not have a proper three-band bandgap, which means the balance of photocurrents between the three cells is incorrect,” said France, senior scientist and designer. of cells. “Here, we have transformed the bandgap while maintaining the best material quality using quantum resources, which makes this device work with other applications.”
Scientists have used quantum springs in the middle to expand the GaAs cell bandgap and increase the amount of light a cell can detect. Importantly, they have developed dense quantum source devices without significant power losses. They also learned how to pull a high-end GaInP cell during the growth process to improve its performance and how to reduce the tension of wire separation at GaInAs unlike lattice, which has been discussed in various publications. Altogether, these three elements inform the formation of a novel cell.
III-V cells are known for their high performance, but the production process is usually very expensive. To date, III-V cells have been used to power applications such as space satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles, and other niche applications. Researchers at NREL have been working to significantly reduce the cost of producing III-V cells and to provide alternative cell designs, which will make these cells economical in a variety of new applications.
The new III-V cell was also tested for efficiency in space use, especially for communications satellites, which are powered by solar cells and are essential for cellular efficiency, and enter 34.2% early-life balance. The current design of the cell is suitable for areas with low radiation, and the use of high radiation may be enhanced by the continuous development of cell structure.
Source Journal Reference:Ryan M. France, John F. Geisz, Tao Song, Waldo Olavarria, Michelle Young, Alan Kibbler, Myles A. Steiner. Triple-junction solar cells with 39.5% terrestrial and 34.2% space efficiency enabled by thick quantum well superlattices. Joule, 2022; 6 (5): 1121 DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2022.04.024
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