skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Spectral and Concentration Sensitivity of Multijunction Solar Cells at High Temperature: Preprint

Conference ·
OSTI ID:1364145

We model the performance of two-junction solar cells at very high temperatures of ~400 degrees C and beyond for applications such as hybrid PV/solar-thermal power production, and identify areas in which the design and performance characteristics behave significantly differently than at more conventional near-room-temperature operating conditions. We show that high-temperature operation reduces the sensitivity of the cell efficiency to spectral content, but increases the sensitivity to concentration, both of which have implications for energy yield in terrestrial PV applications. For other high-temperature applications such as near-sun space missions, our findings indicate that concentration may be a useful tool to enhance cell efficiency.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
U.S. Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E)
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1364145
Report Number(s):
NREL/CP-5J00-67787
Resource Relation:
Conference: Presented at 2017 IEEE 44th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 25-30 June 2017, Washington, DC
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English