Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) holds promise for reducing the price of solar electricity through a large increase of solar cell efficiency and the substitution of most of the semiconductor for optics with a lower cost per area. However, the learning curve of this technology is currently on hold after the closure of the main CPV companies due to the very large capital investments they had to face in an unfavourable economic climate.
Alternatively, cost reductions may be pursued through the development of novel unconventional module architectures like micro-scale concentrating photovoltaics (micro-CPV). The micrifying of cells and optics brings about an increase of efficiency with respect to classical CPV mainly due to shorter optical paths and a lower operating temperature. However, the large costs linked to miniaturization under conventional serial-assembly processes raise the need for the development of parallel manufacturing technologies for optics manufacturing and the assembly and interconnection of solar cells. In contrast with discrete III-V multi-junction solar cells, thin film PV processing is inherently parallel and scalable, which offers an opportunity to explore micro-CPV architectures. The benefits of light concentration on micro-sized thin film solar cells has already been explored by some research groups, although many challenges are still open for demonstrating a functional low-cost system.
This talk will introduce the fundamentals of CPV and the technical and economical rationale for exploring micro-concentration photovoltaics. It will provide an overview of the achievements in the state of the art and the main challenges to face, including the requirements micro-CPV poses to characterization techniques