Sharp Develops Solar Cell with World’s Highest Conversion Efficiency of 36.9%
Achieved with Triple-Junction Compound Solar Cell
Osaka, Nov 4, 2011 – (JCN Newswire) – Sharp Corporation has achieved the world’s highest solar cell conversion efficiency(1) of 36.9%(2) using a triple-junction compound solar cell in which the solar cell has a stacked three-layer structure.
Compound solar cells utilize photo-absorption layers made from compounds consisting of two or more elements, such as indium and gallium. Because of their high conversion efficiency, compound solar cells have been used primarily on space satellites.
Since 2000, Sharp has been pursuing research and development of a triple-junction compound solar cell that achieves high conversion efficiency by stacking three photoabsorption layers. In 2009, Sharp succeeded in improving cell conversion efficiency to 35.8% based on proprietary technology that enabled efficient fabrication of a stacked triple-layer structure with InGaAs (indium gallium arsenide) as the bottom layer.
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