Impurity photovoltaic effect: Fundamental energy conversion efficiency limits

• DOI: 10.1063/1.1492016
• Publication Date: 2002-07-28T22:05:02Z
• Authors: Andrew S. Brown; Martin A. Green
• Keywords: Detailed balance

In the past, minimal improvements have been predicted for efficiency enhancement of solar cells using impurity photovoltaic (IPV) effect, where optical excitation through midgap defect levels allows use long wavelength photons to increase conversion sunlight electricity. present work, principle detailed balance is used calculate limiting with inclusion in idealized case when all transitions are assumed be radiative. Based on these calculations, IPV device a large number different species determined 77.2%. The terrestrial performance also investigated by comparing its spectral sensitivity that tandem cell designs.