English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

We propose a new triple-junction solar cell structure composed of a III-V heterojunction bipolar transistor solar cell (HBTSC) stacked on top of, and series-connected to, a Si solar cell (III-V-HBTSC-on-Si). The HBTSC is a novel three-terminal device, whose viability has been recently experimentally demonstrated. It has the theoretical efficiency limit of an independently-connected double-junction solar cell. Here, we perform detailed balance efficiency limit calculations under one-sun illumination that show that the absolute efficiency limit of a III-V-HBTSC-on-Si device is the same as for the conventional current-matched III-V-on-Si triple-junction (47&#x0025; assuming black-body spectrum, 49&#x0025; with AM1.5G). However, the range of band-gap energies for which the efficiency limit is above 40&#x0025; is much wider in the III-V-HBTSC-on-Si stack case. From a technological point of view, the lattice-matched GaInP/GaAs combination is particularly interesting, which has an AM1.5G efficiency limit of 47&#x0025; with the HBTSC-on-Si structure and 39&#x0025; if the current-matched III-V-on-Si triple junction is considered. Moreover, we show that interconnecting the terminals of the HBTSC to achieve a two-terminal GaInP/GaAs-HBTSC-on-Si device only reduces the efficiency limit by three points, to 43&#x0025;. As a result, the GaInP/GaAs-HBTSC-on-Si solar cell becomes a promising device for two-terminal, high-efficiency one-sun operation. For it to also be cost-effective, low-cost technologies must be applied to the III-V material growth, such as high-throughput epitaxy or sequential growth.

III-V-on-silicon triple-junction based on the heterojunction bipolar transistor solar cell concept