Solar Cell World
Efficiency Record
 |
We all want to
get rid of our dependency on fossil fuels and their side effects.
Alternative sources of energy seems clean and green but they have
a poor conversion rate which makes some people extra cynical about
the viability of renewable energy. But researchers at U.S.
Department of Energy’s
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
have set a world record in
solar cell efficiency. This
photovoltaic mechanism transforms 40.8 percent of the light that
goes through it into energy. This is the highest confirmed
efficiency of any photovoltaic device to date. |
NREL’s Mark
Wanlass is the person behind the invention of original inverted cell. This
design was awarded the R&D 100 award. His design was improved upon by a team
under the leadership of John Geisz. The material properties of the
mismatched semiconductors allows for superior potential conversion of
sunlight.
This new
solar cell is using the constituents of gallium indium phosphide and gallium
indium arsenide for splitting the solar spectrum into three equal parts.
These spectrums of light are absorbed by cell’s three junctions for better
potential effectiveness. This system is extremely thin and light, factors
that contribute to the efficiency of the solar cells. These cells have
better performance, design, operation and costs.
This
photovoltaic device is meant for space satellites and for terrestrial
concentrated photovoltaic arrays which use mirrors or lenses to focus
sunlight onto the solar cells. The 40.8 percent efficiency was calculated
under the concentrated light of 326 suns. One sun is equivalent to the
quantity of light that naturally strikes Earth on a bright day. This high
efficiency solar cell is designed, fabricated and independently measured at
NREL.
