Related papers: Optical Refrigeration for Ultra-Efficient Photovol…
Creating a single bandgap solar cell that approaches the Shockley-Queisser limit requires a highly reflective rear mirror. This mirror enhances the voltage of the solar cell by providing photons with multiple opportunities for escaping out…
Light management is of great importance to photovoltaic cells, as it determines the fraction of incident light entering the device. An optimal pn-junction combined with an optimal light absorption can lead to a solar cell efficiency above…
Solar thermal fuels (STFs) are an unconventional paradigm for solar energy conversion and storage which is attracting renewed attention. In this concept, a material absorbs sunlight and stores the energy chemically via an induced structural…
We develop a new approach to calculate the obtainable limit of photoconversion efficiency of tandem solar cells (SCs) and applied it to SCs with both vertical and lateral designs at AM0 and AM1.5 conditions. To get the maximum efficiency,…
Photonic innovation is becoming ever more important in the modern world. Optical systems are dominating shorter and shorter communications distances, LED's are rapidly emerging for a variety of applications, and solar cells show potential…
Understanding the thermodynamics of radiation and the quantum-mechanical interactions between light and matter is important both for theoretical purposes and for technological advances, such as determining the limits of key processes like…
We derive exact analytical solution of the Shockley-Queisser (SQ) model and present all photovoltaic (PV) characteristics in compact and convenient form via the Lambert W function. We show that the SQ condition of chemical of equilibrium…
Hot-carrier solar cells are envisioned to utilize energy filtering to extract power from photogenerated electron-hole pairs before they thermalize with the lattice, and thus potentially offer higher power conversion efficiency compared to…
A high theoretical efficiency of 47.2% was achieved by a novel combination of In0.51Ga0.49P, GaAs, In0.24Ga0.76As and In0.19Ga0.81Sb subcell layers in a simulated quadruple junction solar cell under 1 sun concentration. The electronic…
In a recent paper, Guillemoles et al [J.F. Guillemoles, T. Kirchartz, D. Cahen and U Rau, Guide for the perplexed to the Shockley-Queisser model for solar cells, Nat. Photonics, 13, 501 (2019)] attempt to clarify and explain the often cited…
Elementary physics of photovoltaic energy conversion in a two-level atomic PV is considered. We explain the conditions for which the Carnot efficiency is reached and how it can be exceeded! The loss mechanisms - thermalization, angle…
The Shockley-Queisser (S-Q) theory defines the thermodynamic upper limits for Jsc, Voc, FF, and efficiency of a solar cell. The classical calculation assumes an abrupt onset of absorption at the band-edge, perfect absorption for all…
It has gradually been recognized that incoming sunlight can be trapped within a high refractive index semiconductor, n~3.5, owing to the narrow 16degree escape cone. The solar light inside a semiconductor is 4n^2 times brighter than…
Taking into account the temperature gradients in solar cells, it is shown that their efficiency can be increased beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit (J. Appl. Phys. 32 (1961) 510). The driving force for this gain is the temperature gradient…
A high photon to electricity conversion efficiency of 47.2082% was achieved by a novel combination of In0.51Ga0.49P, GaAs, In0.24Ga0.76As and In0.19Ga0.81Sb subcell layers in a quadruple junction solar cell design. The electronic bandgap of…
The thermodynamic limit of photovoltaic efficiency for a single-junction solar cell can be readily predicted using the bandgap of the active light absorbing material. Such an approach overlooks the energy loss due to non-radiative…
Significant progress has been made in the field of thermophotovoltaics, with efficiency recently rising to over 40% due to improvements in cell design and material quality, higher emitter temperatures, and better spectral management.…
Among several solutions to exploit solar energy, thermophotovoltaics (TPV) have been popularized and have known great breakthroughs during the past two decades. Yet, existing systems still have low efficiencies since the wavelength range of…
The radiance of thermal emission, as described by Planck law, depends only on the emissivity and temperature of a body, and increases monotonically with the temperature rise at any emitted wavelength. Nonthermal radiation, such as…
We propose a new concept for the design of high-efficiency photocells based on ultra-thin (submicron) semiconductor films of controlled thickness. Using a microscopic model of a thin dielectric layer interacting with incident…