Loading...
News Article

Multijunction solar cell reaches record 36.1% efficiency

News

Silicon 'TOPCon' solar cell combines GaInP and GaInAsP and a metal/polymer nanocoating

A team of researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Research ISE in Germany and the Dutch NWO-Institute AMOLF have made a multijunction solar cell with an efficiency of 36.1 percent, the highest efficiency ever reached for a solar cell based on silicon.

The team presented the new record at the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference (EU PVSEC) in Lisbon on September 21, 2023. The research project was funded through the Fraunhofer ICON program.

The new record combines a 'silicon TOPCon' solar cell (a new high-efficiency cell design developed at Fraunhofer ISE), with two semiconductor layers composed of GaInP and GaInAsP also developed at Fraunhofer ISE. The layer stack is then coated with a specially designed metal/polymer nanocoating designed at AMOLF and fabricated jointly at AMOLF and Fraunhofer ISE. The back reflector improves the trapping of light inside the solar cell, which enables the efficiency to be increased for the first time beyond 36 percent.

New applications

These solar cells are currently more expensive to fabricate than conventional silicon solar cells, which reach efficiencies of up to 27 percent. However, the very high efficiency of the multijunction cell is a great benefit for applications where the available space is limited and a large amount of solar power must be generated within a small area. Applications are foreseen in solar-powered electric cars, consumer products, and drones, for example. The new light management design is also applicable in other types of solar cells, such as silicon-perovskite multijunction solar cells, for example.

Albert Polman, who led the AMOLF-part of the project, reports: “This new record is the result of a unique collaboration between Fraunhofer ISE and AMOLF that started in 2020. The Fraunhofer team is world-renowned for the fabrication of ultra-high efficiency solar cells based on silicon and III-V semiconductors such as GaInP or GaAs. The AMOLF team has built up many years of experience in optimising the management of light in solar cells. In this project, we brought this knowledge together, with this unique result. The solar cells have traveled between Freiburg and Amsterdam for the different processing steps, in this way building up the full solar cell.”

Frank Dimroth from Fraunhofer ISE adds: “It is a great achievement of the researchers in both teams to combine the best processes available to jointly realize a new efficiency record for a silicon-basedmultijunction solar cell. Both, the new back reflector from AMOLF and the improved GaInAsP middle cell from Fraunhofer contributed to this outstanding result.”

References

'Nano-patterned back-reflector with engineered near-field/far-field light scattering for enhanced light trapping in silicon-based multi-junction solar cells' by A. Cordaro et al; ArXiv2305.16462

'Wafer-bonded two-terminal III-V//Si triple-junction solar cell with power conversion efficiency of 36.1 % at AM1.5g' by P. Schygulla teal: Proc. EUPVSEC Conference, Lisbon, Progr. Photovolt. (2023)

QD company Quantum Science expands into new facility
Innoscience files lawsuit against Infineon
Riber revenues up 5% to €41.2m
Forvia Hella to use CoolSiC for next generation charging
Photon Design to exhibit QD simulation tool
Ortel transfers CW laser fabrication to Canada
Luminus adds red and blue multi-mode Lasers
PseudolithIC raises $6M for heterogeneous chiplet tech
Mesa sidewall design improves HV DUV LEDs
IQE revenue to exceed expectations
'Game-changing' VCSEL system targets clinical imaging
German start-up secures finance for SiC processing tech
Macom signs preliminaries for CHIPS Act funding
IQE and Quintessent partner on QD lasers for AI
EU funds perovskite tandems for fuel-free space propulsion
EU to invest €3m in GeSi quantum project
Transforming the current density of AlN Schottky barrier diodes
Turbocharging the GaN MOSFET with a HfO₂ gate
Wolfspeed launches Gen 4 SiC MOSFET technology
Report predicts high growth for UK's North East
Element Six unveils Cu-diamond composite
SemiQ launches hi-rel 1700V SiC MOSFETs
Lynred to exhibit Eyesential SWIR sensor for machine vision
Thorlabs buys VCSEL firm Praevium Research
Advancing tuneable InP lasers on a heterogeneous platform
P-GaN gate HEMTs have record threshold voltage
Guerrilla RF releases GaN power amplifier dice
Narrow-linewidth DFB lasers now at 405 and 488nm
Researchers develop tech for future fast-charging stations
Vermont GaN Tech Hub awarded nearly $24M
Onsemi completes buy-out of Qorvo SiC JFET business
Quantum Science announces Innovate UK funding
×
Search the news archive

To close this popup you can press escape or click the close icon.
Logo
x
Logo
×
Register - Step 1

You may choose to subscribe to the Compound Semiconductor Magazine, the Compound Semiconductor Newsletter, or both. You may also request additional information if required, before submitting your application.


Please subscribe me to:

 

You chose the industry type of "Other"

Please enter the industry that you work in:
Please enter the industry that you work in: