Chasing a 50% efficient solar cell, and fun things we’ve done along the way (Conference Presentation)

III-V multijunction solar cells have demonstrated the highest efficiencies of any photovoltaic technology, in part because of their outstanding material quality and in part because of the ability to reduce thermalization losses while spanning a wide range of the solar spectrum. In this talk I will describe our on-going effort to demonstrate a 50% efficient solar cell using inverted metamorphic technology, and our work on solar cells that operate at temperatures up to 400°C. Along the way, we have learned to enhance photon recycling, to exploit luminescent coupling between junctions, and to fabricate internal reflectors. I will discuss how we are applying these cells to CPV, TPV and hydrogen production applications.