Nano-Cr-film-based solar selective absorber with high photo-thermal conversion efficiency and good thermal stability.

Optical properties and thermal stability of the solar selective absorber based on the metal/dielectric four-layer film structure were investigated in the variable temperature region. Numerical calculations were performed to simulate the spectral properties of multilayer stacks with different metal materials and film thickness. The typical four-layer film structure using the transition metal Cr as the thin solar absorbing layer [SiO(2)(90nm)/Cr(10nm)/SiO(2)(80nm)/Al (≥100nm)] was fabricated on the Si or K9 glass substrate by using the magnetron sputtering method. The results indicate that the metal/dielectric film structure has a good spectral selective property suitable for solar thermal applications with solar absorption efficiency higher than 95% in the 400-1200nm wavelength range and a very low thermal emittance in the infrared region. The solar selective absorber with the thin Cr layer has shown a good thermal stability up to the temperature of 873K under vacuum atmosphere. The experimental results are in good agreement with the calculated spectral results.

A solar photovoltaic system with ideal efficiency close to the theoretical limit.

In order to overcome some physical limits, a solar system consisting of five single-junction photocells with four optical filters is studied. The four filters divide the solar spectrum into five spectral regions. Each single-junction photocell with the highest photovoltaic efficiency in a narrower spectral region is chosen to optimally fit into the bandwidth of that spectral region. Under the condition of solar radiation ranging from 2.4 SUN to 3.8 SUN (AM1.5G), the measured peak efficiency under 2.8 SUN radiation reaches about 35.6%, corresponding to an ideal efficiency of about 42.7%, achieved for the photocell system with a perfect diode structure. Based on the detailed-balance model, the calculated theoretical efficiency limit for the system consisting of 5 single-junction photocells can be about 52.9% under 2.8 SUN (AM1.5G) radiation, implying that the ratio of the highest photovoltaic conversion efficiency for the ideal photodiode structure to the theoretical efficiency limit can reach about 80.7%. The results of this work will provide a way to further enhance the photovoltaic conversion efficiency for solar cell systems in future applications.