Integrated Micro‐Scale Concentrating Photovoltaics: A Scalable Path Toward High‐Efficiency, Low‐Cost Solar Power

Abstract

The global energy market is seeing increases in the electricity demand of a couple of percentage points annually. The photovoltaic (PV) industry is also growing rapidly every year. One of the PV technologies is concentrator photovoltaics (CPV). CPV uses high‐efficiency multijunction solar cells and optics to concentrate sunlight, thereby significantly reducing the amount of semiconductor material needed. Yet, due to the high upfont manufacturing cost of CPV, it currently does not offer a competitive price against silicon PV. With this a new branch is introduced to the industry, micro‐CPV, which can be broadly explained as the miniaturization of the solar cells and optical components. The motivation for micro‐CPV is lowering the cost by decreasing the material volume and enabling new system architectures and high‐throughput manufacturing methods, while still maintaining high electrical efficiencies, taking advantage of a lower thermal load, shorter optical paths, lower resistive losses, and lower material volumes. Herein, a comprehensive review of the technological advances is presented, key synergies between micro‐CPV and other industries sharing similar challenges are identified, exemplified by micro‐light emitting diodes display manufacturing. New assembly process development in these industries will facilitate commercial adoption of micro‐CPV with continued miniaturization while driving down the cost.

Efficient Energy Management for Intelligent Microrobotic Swarms: Design and Impact

“…Most current studies investigating materials suitable for tiny energy devices, explore a range of materials to create on-board energy systems and benchmark material performance (Level 0). Though these findings offer a reservoir of possibilities, [16][17][18][19] their seamless translation into device performance remains elusive, primarily due to the isolation of this material development from the intricate integration processes essential for microrobotics.…”

Highly Stretchable Photovoltaic Module with Improved Mechanical Robustness through Elastomeric Interconnections

“…The second approach is imparting plasticity to rigid devices using a geometrically optimized platform where the strain is concentrated in areas of high elasticity, and the rigid components are placed in areas that are not subject to strain. [20][21][22][23][24][25] For example, Lee et al proposed a platform that enables the fabrication of stretchable GaAs-based devices with a PCE of 19% and a stretchability of 60%. [23] Et-Atab et al employed commercial SCs embedded into an ECOFLEX polymer to fabricate a module with an efficiency of 19% and a strain of 95%.…”

Sheet Resistance Optimization in (Al)GaInP Solar Cells for Concentrator Quadruple–Junction Solar Cells

“…Especially the sheet resistance ( R SH ) can contribute significantly to the overall specific series resistance. [ 6 ] Given that recent micro concentrator systems often operate at concentrations up to or even exceeding 1000 suns, [ 7–9 ] it is necessary that the design of the top cell strongly addresses sheet resistance optimization while ensuring minimal losses in the short–circuit current and open–circuit voltage. Typical sheet resistance values for the n–on–p GaInP homojunction cell architecture range from 525 to 1100 Ω sq −1 [ 10 ] while values from 600 to 900 Ω sq −1 were realized with a reverse–heterojunction AlGaInP cell in a six–junction inverse metamorphic structure.…”