Toward Low-Cost 4-Terminal GaAs//Si Tandem Solar Cells

verfasst von

Kaitlyn T. Vansant, John Simon, John F. Geisz, Emily L. Warren, Kevin L. Schulte, Aaron J. Ptak, Michelle S. Young, Michael Rienäcker, Henning Schulte-Huxel, Robby Peibst, Adele C. Tamboli

Abstract

Mechanically stacked III-V-on-Si (III-V//Si) tandem solar cells have demonstrated efficiencies beyond what can theoretically be achieved by single junction Si solar cells, but III-V costs are currently at least an order of magnitude higher than Si costs. Recent techno-economic analysis shows that costs could be substantially reduced by replacing traditional metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) with a lower-cost III-V deposition technique, such as hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). This study analyzes the performance of an HVPE-grown GaAs top cell incorporated into a 4-terminal (4T) GaAs//Si tandem cell that achieved an efficiency of 29%, which is the highest solar cell efficiency fabricated without expensive deposition techniques such as MOVPE or MBE. We compare these results to an MOVPE-grown GaAs//Si tandem cell that has the same structure. Finally, we model optimizations to the HVPE-grown GaAs top cell and provide a near-term pathway to 31.4% efficiency with a low-cost III-V deposition technique.

Externe Organisation(en)

Colorado School of Mines (CSM)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Institut für Solarenergieforschung GmbH (ISFH)

Typ

Artikel

Journal

ACS Applied Energy Materials

Band

2

Seiten

2375-2380

Anzahl der Seiten

6

Publikationsdatum

22.04.2019

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Chemische Verfahrenstechnik (sonstige), Energieanlagenbau und Kraftwerkstechnik, Elektrochemie, Werkstoffchemie, Elektrotechnik und Elektronik

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

SDG 7 – Erschwingliche und saubere Energie

Elektronische Version(en)

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acsaem.9b00018 (Zugang: Offen)
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.9b00018 (Zugang: Geschlossen)