Title:
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Is conversion efficiency still relevant to qualify advanced multi-junction solar cells?
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Author:
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Vossier, Alexis; Riverola Lacasta, Alberto; Chemisana Villegas, Daniel; Dollet, Alain; Gueymard, Christian A.
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Notes:
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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. |
Subject(s):
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-Multi-junction -Solar cell -CPV -Energy yield -Solar spectrum |
Rights:
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(c) John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 2016
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Document type:
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article acceptedVersion |
Published by:
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Wiley
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