Radiative efficiency of state-of-the-art photovoltaic cells

• Published in: Progress in photovoltaics Vol. 20; no. 4; pp. 472 - 476
• Main Author: Green, Martin A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.06.2012; Wiley; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Applied sciences; efficiency limits; Energy; Exact sciences and technology; Natural energy; Photovoltaic conversion; radiative efficiency; Solar cells. Photoelectrochemical cells; Solar energy; Solar cell; Performance evaluation; State of the art; efficiency limits; Conversion rate; radiative efficiency; Comparative study; Standards; Photovoltaic cell
• ISSN: 1062-7995; 1099-159X
• DOI: 10.1002/pip.1147

ABSTRACT Maximum possible photovoltaic performance is reached when solar cells are 100% radiatively efficient, with different photovoltaic technologies at different stages in their evolution towards this ideal. An external radiative efficiency is defined, which can be unambiguously determined from standard cell efficiency measurements. Comparisons between state‐of‐the‐art devices from the representative cell technologies produce some interesting conclusions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Maximum possible photovoltaic performance is reached when solar cells are 100% radiatively efficient, with different photovoltaic technologies at different stages in their evolution towards this ideal. An external radiative efficiency is defined, which can be unambiguously determined from standard cell efficiency measurements. Comparisons between state‐of‐the‐art devices from the representative cell technologies produce some interesting conclusions.