Transparent contacts for stacked compound photovoltaic cells
| DWPI Title: Microsystems-enabled multi-junction photovoltaic (MEM-PV) cell has contact layer with semiconductor material whose bandgap is greater than or equal to bandgap of semiconductor material of specific photovoltaic cell |
| Abstract: A microsystems-enabled multi-junction photovoltaic (MEM-PV) cell includes a first photovoltaic cell having a first junction, the first photovoltaic cell including a first semiconductor material employed to form the first junction, the first semiconductor material having a first bandgap. The MEM-PV cell also includes a second photovoltaic cell comprising a second junction. The second photovoltaic cell comprises a second semiconductor material employed to form the second junction, the second semiconductor material having a second bandgap that is less than the first bandgap, the second photovoltaic cell further comprising a first contact layer disposed between the first junction of the first photovoltaic cell and the second junction of the second photovoltaic cell, the first contact layer composed of a third semiconductor material having a third bandgap, the third bandgap being greater than or equal to the first bandgap. |
| Use: Microsystems-enabled multi-junction photovoltaic (MEM-PV) cell. |
| Advantage: Since the contact layer of the cell has a bandgap that is selected such that the contact layer acts as a window layer in the MEM-PV cell, the solar radiation not absorbed by a cell higher in the vertical stack passes through the contact layer. Hence, the solar radiation can be absorbed by a cell lower in the vertical stack. Thus, the use of micro-systems technology such as wafer bonding technology can be promoted to intimately bond two cells without voids and defects. |
| Novelty: The MEM-PV cell (300) has a first photovoltaic cell (302) with a first semiconductor material having a first bandgap. A second photovoltaic cell (304) has a second semiconductor material with second bandgap less than first bandgap. The first cell is positioned to receive solar radiation before second photovoltaic cell. The second cell has a contact layer (308,318) arranged between the first and second junctions of the cells. The contact layer has a third semiconductor material with a third bandgap greater than or equal to the first bandgap. |
| Filed: 10/11/2012 |
| Application Number: US13649238A |
| Tech ID: SD 12378.0 |
| This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DE-NA0003525 awarded by the United States Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. The Government has certain rights in the invention. |
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