Mechanically stacked solar cells for concentrator photovoltaics

Flexible concentrator photovoltaics based on microscale silicon solar cells embedded in luminescent waveguides.

Unconventional methods to exploit monocrystalline silicon and other established materials in photovoltaic (PV) systems can create new engineering opportunities, device capabilities and cost structures. Here we show a type of composite luminescent concentrator PV system that embeds large scale, interconnected arrays of microscale silicon solar cells in thin matrix layers doped with luminophores....

Efficient Micro-concentrator for Microsystems- Enabled Photovoltaics

MOTIVATION In response to the DOE SunShot initiative to achieve utility scale solar power generation at $1 per watt peak, Sandia National Laboratories is investigating a microsystems-enabled photovoltaics (MEPV) approach that combines the high conversion efficiencies of concentrated photovoltaics (CPV) with the form factor and low system costs of flat panel PV. MEPV combines solar cells having ...

Photovoltaics: an alternative 'Sun' for solar cells.

Photovoltaics: More solar cells for less.

Photovoltaics: solar cells on curtains.

Photovoltaic devices directly convert solar energy into electricity, and thus are highly attractive for a wide range of applications. Although the energy harvested by solar cell technology accounts for only about 0.04% of today’s global energy consumption1, it is one of the fastestgrowing energy sectors, in part because of the vast research and development efforts that have been undertaken in r...