Optimal Materials and Deposition Technique Lead to Cost-Effective Solar Cell with Best-Ever Conversion Efficiency (Fact Sheet)
This fact sheet describes how the SJ3 solar cell was invented, explains how the technology works, and why it won an R&D 100 Award. Based on NREL and Solar Junction technology, the commercial SJ3 concentrator solar cell - with 43.5% conversion efficiency at 418 suns - uses a lattice-matched multijunction architecture that has near-term potential for cells with {approx}50% efficiency. Multijunction solar cells have higher conversion efficiencies than any other type of solar cell. But developers of utility-scale and space applications crave even better efficiencies at lower costs to be both cost-effective and able to meet the demand for power. The SJ3 multijunction cell, developed by Solar Junction with assistance from foundational technological advances by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, has the highest efficiency to date - almost 2% absolute more than the current industry standard multijunction cell-yet at a comparable cost. So what did it take to create this cell having 43.5% efficiency at 418-sun concentration? A combination of materials with carefully designed properties, a manufacturing technique allowing precise control, and an optimized device design.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Solar Energy Technologies Program
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1046279
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/FS-2000-55741; TRN: US201215%%416
- Resource Relation:
- Related Information: NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ARCHITECTURE
CONCENTRATOR SOLAR CELLS
DEPOSITION
DESIGN
EFFICIENCY
MANUFACTURING
NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY
SOLAR CELLS
ENERGY CONVERSION
SJ3 SOLAR CELL
SOLAR JUNCTION
MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELL
CONCENTRATOR SOLAR CELL
LATTICE-MATCHED
R&D 100 AWARD
DILUTE-NITRIDE ALLOYS
National Renewable Energy Laboratory