Indoor and Outdoor Comparison of CPV III–V Multijunction Solar Cells

Author

Mingguo Liu ; Kinsey, Geoffrey S. ; Bagienski, Will ; Nayak, Amiya ; Garboushian, Vahan

Author_Institution

Amonix Inc., Seal Beach, CA, USA

Volume

3

Issue

2

fYear

2013

fDate

41365

Firstpage

888

Lastpage

892

Abstract

Concentrator III-V multijunction solar cells from seven vendors have been characterized via indoor flash test, outdoor on-sun test, and spectral response. Most vendors have achieved similar efficiency in both indoor flash test and on-sun test. The relative difference among different cell vendors changes in two tests because of their different spectral responses and temperature coefficients. The spectral sensitivity of III-V multijunction cells leads to performance variation in the field that is not always well predicted by traditional indoor flash test or instantaneous on-sun tests. The results for different epitaxial designs and limitations of the test methodologies are presented. The comparative results lead to future design modifications for maximum energy output.

Keywords

III-V semiconductors; semiconductor heterojunctions; solar cells; solar energy concentrators; CPV III-V multijunction solar cells; III-V multijunction cells; cell vendors; concentrator III-V multijunction solar cells; design modifications; energy output; epitaxial designs; indoor flash test; outdoor on-sun test; spectral responses; spectral sensitivity; temperature coefficients; Ash; Computer architecture; Current measurement; Photovoltaic cells; Resistance; Temperature; Temperature measurement; Concentrator photovoltaic (CPV); external quantum efficiency; flash test; multijunction solar cells; temperature coefficient;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Photovoltaics, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

2156-3381

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/JPHOTOV.2012.2230055

Filename

6381428