GaSb‐Based Solar Cells for Full Solar Spectrum Energy Harvesting |
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| Authors: | Matthew P Lumb Shawn Mack Kenneth J Schmieder María González Mitchell F Bennett David Scheiman Matthew Meitl Brent Fisher Scott Burroughs Kyu‐Tae Lee John A Rogers Robert J Walters |
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| Institution: | 1. The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA;2. US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA;3. Sotera Defense Solutions, Annapolis Junction, MD, USA;4. Semprius Inc., Durham, NC, USA;5. University of Illinois Urbana‐Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA |
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| Abstract: | In this work, a multijunction solar cell is developed on a GaSb substrate that can efficiently convert the long‐wavelength photons typically lost in a multijunction solar cell into electricity. A combination of modeling and experimental device development is used to optimize the performance of a dual junction GaSb/InGaAsSb concentrator solar cell. Using transfer printing, a commercially available GaAs‐based triple junction cell is stacked mechanically with the GaSb‐based materials to create a four‐terminal, five junction cell with a spectral response range covering the region containing >99% of the available direct‐beam power from the Sun reaching the surface of the Earth. The cell is assembled in a mini‐module with a geometric concentration ratio of 744 suns on a two‐axis tracking system and demonstrated a combined module efficiency of 41.2%, measured outdoors in Durham, NC. Taking into account the measured transmission of the optics gives an implied cell efficiency of 44.5%. |
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| Keywords: | GaSb multijunction solar cells transfer‐printing |
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