(Al)GaInP/GaAs Tandem Solar Cells for Power Conversion at Elevated Temperature and High Concentration
We demonstrate dual-junction (Al)GaInP/GaAs solar cells designed for operation at 400 degrees C and 1000x concentration. For the top junction, we compare (Al)GaInP solar cells with room-temperature bandgaps ranging from 1.9 to 2.0 eV. At 400 degrees C, we find that ~1.9 eV GaInP solar cells have a higher open-circuit voltage and a lower sheet resistance than higher bandgap (Al)GaInP solar cells, giving them a clear advantage in a tandem configuration. Dual-junction GaInP/GaAs solar cells are fabricated, and we show temperature-dependent external quantum efficiency, illuminated current-voltage, and concentrator measurements from 25 degrees C to 400 degrees C. We measure a power conversion efficiency of 16.4% +/- 1% at 400 degrees C and 345 suns for the best dual-junction cell, and discuss multiple pathways to improve the performance further. After undergoing a 200 h soak at 400 degrees C, the dual-junction device shows a relative loss in efficiency of only ~1%.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1423195
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-5J00-70703
- Journal Information:
- IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, Vol. 8, Issue 2; ISSN 2156-3381
- Publisher:
- IEEECopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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