Symposium EE3-Materials and Devices for Full Spectrum Solar Energy Harvesting

Significant efforts have been applied to realize full spectrum solar energy utilization in different types of photovoltaic (PV) and solar-thermal devices. Single junction solar cells are already near theoretical efficiency limits defined by thermalization losses and sub-bandgap transparency. Multijunction (tandem) solar cells provide pathways to greatly improved efficiencies by spectrally splitting sunlight into sub-cells with different bandgaps.

Conventional multijunction cells, however, require lattice matched or metamorphic epitaxial growth, which constrains options in material selection. To address these challenges and further approach thermodynamic limits in efficiency, innovations in materials design and device architecture are required. Emerging methods for full spectrum energy harvesting include crystal epitaxy, mechanical stacking/bonding, spectral splitting, hybrid solar electric/thermal energy harvesting, etc. A broad range of materials proposed for full spectrum solar cells and devices span from III-V, silicon and germanium, to chacogenides, perovskites, organic and hybrid materials. Novel concepts for light/thermal management, including light trapping, photon recycling, downconversion/upconverstion and quantum dots, may be applied.

This symposium provides a forum to discuss various approaches to realize high-efficiency, low-cost full spectrum solar cells and systems. It will focus on the fundamental materials science, interface properties, device physics, light management and manufacturing methods to achieve multijunction solar cells and systems. The presentations and invited abstracts cover interdisciplinary fields including physics, chemistry, materials science, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering.

• Methods for solar cell material growth or synthesis
• Hybrid solar electric and solar thermal energy harvesting
• Concepts and theories for light and thermal management
• Current and new solar cell absorbers and their electronic and optical properties
• Device architecture and assembly, including printing, mechanical bonding, spectral splitting optics, etc.
• Optical and electronic modeling and simulations for multijunction solar cell devices
• Manufacturing and characterization of solar modules and systems

• EE3_Materials and Devices for Full Spectrum Solar Energy Harvesting_0 (California Institute of Technology, USA)
• EE3_Materials and Devices for Full Spectrum Solar Energy Harvesting_1 (University of New South Wales, Australia)
• EE3_Materials and Devices for Full Spectrum Solar Energy Harvesting_2 (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)
• EE3_Materials and Devices for Full Spectrum Solar Energy Harvesting_3 (Stanford University, USA)
• EE3_Materials and Devices for Full Spectrum Solar Energy Harvesting_4 (The Pennsylvania State University, USA)
• EE3_Materials and Devices for Full Spectrum Solar Energy Harvesting_5 (Spectrolab Inc., USA)
• EE3_Materials and Devices for Full Spectrum Solar Energy Harvesting_6 (Sozhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionic, CAS, China)
• EE3_Materials and Devices for Full Spectrum Solar Energy Harvesting_7 (Sungkyunkwan University, Republic of Korea)
• EE3_Materials and Devices for Full Spectrum Solar Energy Harvesting_8 (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA)
• EE3_Materials and Devices for Full Spectrum Solar Energy Harvesting_9 (ARPA-E, U.S. Department of Energy, USA)
• EE3_Materials and Devices for Full Spectrum Solar Energy Harvesting_10 (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA)
• EE3_Materials and Devices for Full Spectrum Solar Energy Harvesting_11 (Sunshot Initiative, U.S. Department of Energy, USA)
• EE3_Materials and Devices for Full Spectrum Solar Energy Harvesting_12 (University of California, Berkeley, USA)