High Efficiency III-V Solar Cells: past, present and future

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• Dr Ned J Ekins-Daukes, Imperial College
• Thursday 17 May 2012, 19:30-21:00
• Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Dr Geoff Hale.

Light refreshments from 19:00. Open to anyone with an interest in the topic.

III -V solar cells have a long track record, starting with the Russian Venera missions to Venus in the 1960s, and are now used for almost all communication satellites. III -V semiconductors can be fabricated to produce multi-junction devices that span the solar spectrum; the current world record for solar power conversion (December 2011) is 37.9% for a triple junction solar cell under one sun illumination. For fundamental thermodynamic reasons, the efficiency of these solar cells rises under increased concentration, so the highest efficiency concentrator solar cell (illustrated) presently operates at 43.2%. At such efficiencies, large scale, terrestrial solar power generation using concentrator systems in the deserts becomes feasible. The technological developments underpinning these achievements will be discussed, together with an outlook of the present challenges and likely near term progress.

This talk is part of the Cambridge and Anglian Materials Society meetings series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Cambridge Energy Seminars
• Cambridge and Anglian Materials Society meetings
• Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ
• Institution of Mechanical Engineers (Cambridgeshire Area)
• NanoDTC Energy Materials Talks
• NanoDTC Talks
• history

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