Surveying the solar cell landscape

The rate of development and deployment of large-scale photovoltaic systems over recent years has been unprecedented. Because the cost of photovoltaic systems is only partly determined by the cost of the solar cells, efficiency is a key driver to reduce the cost of solar energy. There are several materials systems being explored to achieve high efficiency at low cost. Polman et al. comprehensively and systematically review the leading candidate materials, present the limitations of each system, and analyze how these limitations can be overcome and overall cell performance improved.

Abstract

Recent developments in photovoltaic materials have led to continual improvements in their efficiency. We review the electrical characteristics of 16 widely studied geometries of photovoltaic materials with efficiencies of 10 to 29%. Comparison of these characteristics to the fundamental limits based on the Shockley-Queisser detailed-balance model provides a basis for identifying the key limiting factors, related to efficient light management and charge carrier collection, for these materials. Prospects for practical application and large-area fabrication are discussed for each material.

Science 15 Apr 2016:
Vol. 352, Issue 6283,
DOI: 10.1126/science.aad4424

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6283/aad4424

最近几年，大规模太阳能发电系统的开发与普及速率达到史无前例的程度。太阳能发电系统的成本很大程度上取决于太阳能电池的效率，因此提高太阳能电池的能量转化效率是降低太阳能发电系统成本的一个重要因素。目前有一些材料体系有希望实现低成本发电。Polman等人就这些材料体系撰写了综述。他们全面系统的比较了这些候选材料，指出了每个体系的问题，同时就如何克服这些问题以及未来发展方向提出了看法。（新材料在线）

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