In a breakthrough, scientists have created an array of solar cells that can withstand the blazing glare of 70,000 Suns.
Researchers have come up with a new technique for improving the connections between stacked solar cells, which should improve the overall efficiency of solar energy devices and reduce the cost of solar energy production.
Stacked solar cells consist of several solar cells that are stacked on top of one another. Stacked cells are currently the most efficient cells on the market, converting up to 45 per cent of the solar energy they absorb into electricity.
But to be effective, solar cell designers need to ensure the connecting junctions between these stacked cells do not absorb any of the solar energy and do not siphon off the voltage the cells produce – effectively wasting that energy as heat.
“We have discovered that by inserting a very thin film of gallium arsenide into the connecting junction of stacked cells we can virtually eliminate voltage loss without blocking any of the solar energy,” said Dr Salah Bedair, a professor of electrical engineering at North Carolina State University and senior author of a paper.
This work is important because photovoltaic energy companies are interested in using lenses to concentrate solar energy, from one Sun (no lens) to 4,000 suns or more.