Mar 18 2015
Sol Voltaics, providing advanced nano material technology for the solar industry, today announced that it has doubled the previously reported world-record for photovoltaic (PV) conversion efficiency using a gallium-arsenide (GaAs) nanowire array (NWA).
As independently verified by Fraunhofer-ISE, Sol Voltaics has demonstrated a 1-sun conversion efficiency of 15.3% in a GaAs NWA solar cell, representing a significant milestone towards providing the solar industry with an efficiency boosting tandem film.
This is the highest efficiency reported to date in a III-V NWA solar cell, and twice the prior record for GaAs NWA technology. Control of the high density of surface states of native GaAs is essential for PV applications, and these results prove that the company has resolved this challenge in the growth of solar cell nanowires.
“The efficiency of our GaAs nanowires is a critical component of our low cost film. The use of III-V materials in the PV industry has always been a goal but the costs have been prohibitive. Using Sol Voltaic’s Aerotaxy® nanowire production methodology allows our III-V film to be produced at competitive cost at efficiencies that are industry changing,” said Erik Smith, chief executive officer of Sol Voltaics. “We look forward to working with industrial partners on the integration of our technology on to Si cells so they may make the leap to 27% efficiency and beyond.”
Source: http://www.solvoltaics.com/