High-efficiency Köhler photovoltaic concentrators with external light confinement

Pablo Zamora; Pablo Benítez; Juan C. Miñano; Yang Li; Marina Buljan

doi:10.1117/12.894414

22 September 2011 High-efficiency Köhler photovoltaic concentrators with external light confinement

Pablo Zamora, Pablo Benítez, Juan C. Miñano, Yang Li, Marina Buljan

Proceedings Volume 8124, Nonimaging Optics: Efficient Design for Illumination and Solar Concentration VIII; 81240J (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.894414
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2011, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Metal grid lines are a vital element in multijunction solar cells in order to take out from the cell the generated photocurrent. Nevertheless all this implies certain shadowing factor and thus certain reflectivity on cells surface that lowers its light absorption. This reflectivity produces a loss in electrical efficiency and thus a loss in global energy production for CPV systems. We present here an optical design for recovering this portion of reflected light, and thus leading to a system efficiency increase. This new design is based on an external confinement cavity, an optical element able to redirect the light reflected by the cell towards its surface again. It has been possible thanks to the recent invention of the advanced Köhler concentrators by LPI, likely to integrate one of these cavities easily. We have proven the excellent performance of these cavities integrated in this kind of CPV modules offering outstanding results: 33.2% module electrical efficiency @Tcell=25ºC and relative efficiency and I_sc gains of over 6%.

Citation Download Citation

Pablo Zamora, Pablo Benítez, Juan C. Miñano, Yang Li, and Marina Buljan "High-efficiency Köhler photovoltaic concentrators with external light confinement", Proc. SPIE 8124, Nonimaging Optics: Efficient Design for Illumination and Solar Concentration VIII, 81240J (22 September 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.894414

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