Transforming the cost of solar-to-electrical energy conversion: Integrating thin-film GaAs solar cells with non-tracking mini-concentrators

• Published in: Light, science & applications Vol. 4; no. 5; p. e288
• Main Authors: Lee, Kyusang, Lee, Jaesang, Mazor, Bryan A, Forrest, Stephen R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.05.2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: 639/624/1107/510; Applied and Technical Physics; Atomic; Classical and Continuum Physics; Concentrators; Cost engineering; Gallium arsenide; Lasers; Modules; Molecular; Optical and Plasma Physics; Optical Devices; Optics; original-article; Photonics; Photovoltaic cells; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Solar cells; Thin films; Tracking; Weight reduction; epitaxial lift-off; plastic substrate; cost per Watt; concentrator; thin-film GaAs solar cell

Practical solar energy solutions must not only reduce the cost of the module, but also address the substantial balance of system costs. Here, we demonstrate a counter-intuitive approach based on gallium arsenide solar cells that can achieve extremely low-cost solar energy conversion with an estimate...