The study of concentrator solar cells

Abstract

Solar energy has a growing influence in the world today, much due to the continuing depletion of natural resources and the global focus towards renewable energy. However, the solar energy that is produced today from the photovoltaic cells is still not at an optimum level. Hence, various researches are being made with an aim of improving the efficiency of a solar cell. Solar cells may be split into three groups, namely the first generation, second generation and third generation. The concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) is a new technology where absorbed light is concentrated onto a smaller solar cell, which will boost the productivity of the solar cell. The third generation of solar cells has the most potential of producing highly efficient solar cells theoretically, however, studies are still ongoing to better stabilize the processes. Taurus Medici is a software which can simulate the output of a solar cell to get accurate results for the testing done on different solar cells. Solar cells across all three generations are compared, with up and down conversion being used for third generation, to analyze the difference in efficiency as well as the relationship between the material and efficiency.