화학공학소재연구정보센터
Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Vol.159, 496-502, 2017
Materials efficient deposition and heat management of CuInSe2 micro-concentrator solar cells
Thin-film solar cells based on Cu(In, Ga)Se-2 chalcopyrite materials have achieved record power conversion efficiencies (PCE) above 22%, higher than any other thin film technology. Here, a proof-of-principle for Cu(In, Ga)Se2 solar cells with a reduced materials consumption by a factor of 100 is demonstrated for which simulations indicate an even higher PCE potential. The concept is based on using micrometer-sized solar cells onto which sunlight is concentrated using a lens array. Thereby, all incoming sunlight is absorbed in solar cells that only cover a fraction (on the order of 1/100) of the surface, creating thus significant material savings. A fabrication process based on selective growth of CuInSe2 micro solar cells is presented, using electrodeposition into holes of an insulating SiO2 layer on a Mo back electrical contact. Proof-of-principle micro solar cells using this materials-savings approach are realized and characterized. Additionally, the heat management of micro concentrator solar cells is studied using finite element simulations. For square micro solar cells up to 100 inn side length the temperature increase due to the concentrated sunlight can be kept below 4 degrees C above that of a flat panel solar cell. An increase of the PCE by 4.9% is estimated, considering the combined effect of the open circuit voltage increase due to concentrated sunlight, and the PCE decrease due to the temperature increase.