TY - GEN
T1 - Optimal lateral splitting of the AM1.5 solar spectrum for a mono-Si and CdTe two cell PV array
AU - Olson, K.
AU - Nelson, E.
AU - Cohen, P.
AU - Talghader, J.
PY - 2011/12/1
Y1 - 2011/12/1
N2 - An analysis of the optimal spectral splitting for a lateral two-cell solar photovoltaic system is described and tested experimentally. A diffraction grating with arbitrary but known transmission efficiency versus wavelength was used to split the spectrum. An AM1.5 spectrum was produced using a Xe-arc lamp with 5mm pinhole, AM1.5 optical filter for Xe-arc lamps, and a collimating lens. Detailed balance simulations for solar p-n junctions were performed on the AM1.5 spectrum weighted by the optical transmission efficiency of the diffraction grating. When the optical efficiency is included in the detailed balance calculations, an accurate prediction for the performance of the experiment is obtained. Using the simple diffraction grating, we calculate the optimal efficiency of the system under no concentration to be ∼23.2% with cells of band gaps 1.14 and 1.82eV. Using mono-Si and CdTe with band gaps of 1.12 and 1.46eV respectively results in an optimal spectral split at 849nm and a total efficiency of 21.1%. Experimentally the result is proven using a mono-Si and CdTe PV array by splitting the spectrum over many wavelengths and finding the optimal split.
AB - An analysis of the optimal spectral splitting for a lateral two-cell solar photovoltaic system is described and tested experimentally. A diffraction grating with arbitrary but known transmission efficiency versus wavelength was used to split the spectrum. An AM1.5 spectrum was produced using a Xe-arc lamp with 5mm pinhole, AM1.5 optical filter for Xe-arc lamps, and a collimating lens. Detailed balance simulations for solar p-n junctions were performed on the AM1.5 spectrum weighted by the optical transmission efficiency of the diffraction grating. When the optical efficiency is included in the detailed balance calculations, an accurate prediction for the performance of the experiment is obtained. Using the simple diffraction grating, we calculate the optimal efficiency of the system under no concentration to be ∼23.2% with cells of band gaps 1.14 and 1.82eV. Using mono-Si and CdTe with band gaps of 1.12 and 1.46eV respectively results in an optimal spectral split at 849nm and a total efficiency of 21.1%. Experimentally the result is proven using a mono-Si and CdTe PV array by splitting the spectrum over many wavelengths and finding the optimal split.
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U2 - 10.1109/PVSC.2011.6186367
DO - 10.1109/PVSC.2011.6186367
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84861015117
SN - 9781424499656
T3 - Conference Record of the IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference
SP - 2100
EP - 2104
BT - Program - 37th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2011
T2 - 37th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2011
Y2 - 19 June 2011 through 24 June 2011
ER -
