A method of fabricating four junction solar cell wherein the selection of the composition of the subcells and their band gaps maximizes the efficiency at high temperature (in the range of 50 to 100 degrees Centigrade) in deployment in space at a specific predetermined time after initial deployment (referred to as the beginning of life or BOL), such predetermined time being referred to as the end-of-life (EOL), and being at least five years after the BOL, such selection being designed not to maximize the efficiency at BOL but to increase the solar cell efficiency at the EOL while disregarding the solar cell efficiency achieved at the BOL, such that the solar cell efficiency designed at the BOL is less than the solar cell efficiency at the BOL that would be achieved if the selection were designed to maximize the solar cell efficiency at the BOL.

A four junction solar cell having an upper first solar subcell composed of a semiconductor material having a first band gap; a second solar subcell adjacent to said first solar subcell and composed of a semiconductor material having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap and being lattice matched with the upper first solar subcell; a third solar subcell adjacent to said second solar subcell and composed of a semiconductor material having a third band gap smaller than the second band gap and being lattice matched with the second solar subcell; and a fourth solar subcell adjacent to said third solar subcell and composed of a semiconductor material having a fourth band gap smaller than the third band gap; wherein the fourth subcell has a direct bandgap of greater than 0.75 eV.

A photovoltaic device and method include a doped germanium-containing substrate, an emitter contact coupled to the substrate on a first side and a back contact coupled to the substrate on a side opposite the first side. The emitter includes at least one doped layer of an opposite conductivity type as that of the substrate and the back contact includes at least one doped layer of the same conductivity type as that of the substrate. The at least one doped layer of the emitter contact or the at least one doped layer of the back contact is in direct contact with the substrate, and the at least one doped layer of the emitter contact or the back contact includes an n-type material having an electron affinity smaller than that of the substrate, or a p-type material having a hole affinity larger than that of the substrate.

The present disclosure provides a multijunction solar cell that includes: a first sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a first set of one or more solar subcells; a graded interlayer adjacent to said first sequence of layers; a second sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a second set of one or more solar subcells; and a high band gap contact layer adjacent said second sequence of layers, wherein the high band gap contact layer is composed of p++ type InGaAlAs or InGaAs.

A multi-junction solar cell comprising a high-crystalline silicon solar cell and a high-crystalline germanium solar cell. The high-crystalline silicon solar including a first p-doped layer and a n+ layer and the high-crystalline germanium solar cell including a second p layer and a heavily doped layer. The multi-junction solar cell can also be comprised of a heavily doped silicon layer on a non-light receiving back surface of the high-crystalline germanium solar cell and a tunnel junction between the high-crystalline silicon solar cell and the high-crystalline germanium solar cell.

A multi-junction solar cell comprising a high-crystalline silicon solar cell and a high-crystalline germanium solar cell. The high-crystalline silicon solar including a first p-doped layer and a n+ layer and the high-crystalline germanium solar cell including a second p layer and a heavily doped layer. The multi-junction solar cell can also be comprised of a heavily doped silicon layer on a non-light receiving back surface of the high-crystalline germanium solar cell and a tunnel junction between the high-crystalline silicon solar cell and the high-crystalline germanium solar cell.

The disclosure provides a multi-junction solar cell structure and the manufacturing method thereof, comprising a first photovoltaic structure and a second photovoltaic structure; wherein at least one of the first photovoltaic structure and the second photovoltaic structure comprises a discontinuous photoelectric converting structure.

This disclosure relates to photovoltaic and photoelectrosynthetic cells, devices, methods of making and using the same.

The invention relates to a 3T tandem solar cell, a tandem solar cell module and a method of manufacturing the same. The 3T tandem solar cell according to the invention comprises at least a first solar cell (11, 11) comprising a first absorber layer (11-2, 11-2) disposed between a first electrode (11-1, 11-1) on a side of the first solar cell (11, 11) facing the incident light (100), and a first transparent conductive layer (11-3, 11-3) on a side of the first solar cell (11, 11) facing away from the incident light (100), wherein the first solar cell (11, 11) is disposed on a solar cell (12, 12) having a second absorber layer (12-2, 12-2) disposed between a second electrode (12-1, 12-1) on a side of the second solar cell (12, 12) facing away from the incident light (100) and a second transparent conductive layer (12-3, 12-3) on a side of the second solar cell facing the incident light (100). According to the invention, a connecting layer (13) is arranged between the first and the second solar cell (11, 11, 12, 12), wherein the connecting layer (13) forms an electrically conductive connection between the first and the second solar cell (11, 11, 12, 12), and wherein the connecting layer (13) comprises an electrically conductive one-piece conductive element (13-3, 13-3) configured and arranged to form the electrically conductive connection and wherein the conductive element (13-3, 13-3) is embedded in an embedding means (13-2) while maintaining contact points (K1, K2, K3, K4, K5) respectively to the first and to the second transparent conductive layer (11-3, 11-3, 12-3, 12-3) and is connected to or integrally forms a third electrode (13-1, 13-1) of the at least one tandem solar cell (10, 10).

A low bandgap absorber region (LBAR) used in a laser power converter (LPC). The laser power converter is comprised of one or more subcells on a substrate, wherein at least one of the subcells has an emitter and base, with the low bandgap absorber region coupled between the emitter and base. The emitter and base are comprised of a material with a bandgap higher than a wavelength of incident laser light, and the low bandgap absorber region is comprised of a material with a bandgap lower than the emitter and base. The emitter and base are transparent to the incident laser light, and the low bandgap absorber region absorbs the incident laser light and generates a current in response thereto, such that the current is controlled by the material and thickness of the low bandgap absorber region. The low bandgap absorber region is configured to produce a current balanced to the subcells connected in series.