A high efficiency fluorescent planar concentrator stack -FPC stack- combined with III-V solar cells

A high electrical efficiency FPC stack/III-V solar cell system with an active area of 400 square cm has been planned, built and characterized under outdoor conditions. The optimum configuration with the best available FPC's and GaAs solar cells was calculated using a previously described Monte-Carlo computer simulation code (1), after measuring the spectral responses of the solar cells with an extended and improved grating monochromator set-up. The best stacks from the calculations have been built and characterized under outdoor conditions, and an overall electrical efficiency of 4.1. % at an effective concentration of 3.1 has been reached. This is the highest overall electrical efficiency reported for a FPC stack of this geometry. The GaAs solar cells used in this paper were supplied by CISE, Milano. (ISE)