Triple-junction solar cell performance under Fresnel-based concentrators taking into account chromatic aberration and off-axis operation

Espinet‐González, Pilar; Mohedano, Rubén; García, Iván; Zamora, Pablo; Rey‐Stolle, Ignacio; Benı́tez, Pablo; Algora, Carlos; Cvetković, Aleksandra; Hernández, Marta I.; Chaves, Julio; Miñano, Juan C.; Li, Y.

doi:10.1063/1.4753839

Cited by 35 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…The FK mixes simplicity (it is essentially a Fresnel lens, whose technology is quite mature) and excellent performance: high concentration and large tolerances, enabling high array efficiencies, combined with a solar cell illumination free of chromatic aberration [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ventana{trade mark, serif} power train features and performance

Mohedano¹,

Benı́tez²,

Zamora³

et al. 2013

AIP Conference Proceedings

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Most CPV systems are based on Fresnel lenses. Among these, LPI-patented Fresnel-Köhler (FK) concentrator outstands owing to performance and practical reasons. The Ventana TM power train is the first off-the-shelf commercial product based on the FK and comprises both the primary (POE) lenses (a 36-units 1×1 m 2 acrylic panel) and glass (or silica glass) secondary optics (SOE). This high concentration optical train (C g =1,024×, ~250mm optical depth) fits with 5×5 mm 2 (at least) solar cells. The optical train is the fruit of a 1-year development that has included design, modeling, prototyping and characterization, and through the process we had the opportunity to find out how well the actual performance correlates with models, but also learned practical aspects of a CPV system of this kind, some of which have very positive impact on system performance and reliability.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ventana{trade mark, serif} power train features and performance

Mohedano¹,

Benı́tez²,

Zamora³

et al. 2013

AIP Conference Proceedings

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“…This means that if the concentrator produces different irradiance distributions for the three bands (due to chromatic dispersion produced when using refractive optics), the electrical power generated by the solar cell can be significantly lower than in the case when the same amount of light is received but they are properly balanced. Fig.3 shows the results in [4] of the modelling of the angular response of two concentrators combining optical simulations with electrical simulation (using a finite element discretization of the cell). One of the selected concentrators is the flat-Fresnel PMMA lenses with the classical inverted-truncated pyramid (ITP SOE, while the other is the FK (shown in Fig 1), a best-in-class design proprietary of LPI [5].…”

Section: Tolerancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fabrication and Tolerances of Optics for High Concentration Photovoltaics

Benı́tez

Miñano

Ahmadpnahi

et al. 2014

Classical Optics 2014

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High Concentration Photovoltaics (HCPV) require an optical system with high efficiency, low cost and large tolerance. We describe the particularities of the HCPV applications, which constrain the optics design and the manufacturing techonologies. IntroductionMinimizing energy cost (€/kWh) is necessary for the success of concentrated photovoltaic energy (CPV). Key to minimizing this cost is an efficient and low cost optical design, goals best met with the fewest elements and the maximum tolerances, but always maintaining the high concentration (>500) that offsets the cost of expensive highefficiency multi-junction solar cells [1]. CPV optical systems have usually only two stages (Primary and Secondary Optical Elements, or POE and SOE, respectively). This is because as the number of stages grows, the system becomes more complex and less efficient and as the number of stages reduces the concentration and the tolerance decreases. The POE is the first element intercepting the incoming solar energy. It is thus an element having a relative large area. The SOE is a smaller element which is either reflective or refractive.Comparing to other optical components in other applications, CPV optics has two main singularities: (a) the cost targets constrain dramatically the fabrication technologies, and (b) the non-linear electrical performance of series connected solar cells affects the merit function for tolerancing.

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“…The uniform irradiance distribution has to be achieved for the entire spectrum for which MJ cells traps photons, because the photocurrent has to match between different junctions. In fact, when chromatic aberrations between irradiance distributions over the different junctions are significant, the effect on power losses increases considerably [3][4][5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, when aiming for a larger concentration, spectral irradiance uniformity decreases for Fresnel-Kohler architecture, as well as the acceptance angle, as previously mentioned. Irradiance uniformity deterioration with concentration has been demonstrated in [5] (for a SILO system, which has almost perfect uniformity at 300x [11]). This deterioration maybe debatable for other concentrators.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%