Thermal analysis and test for single concentrator solar cells

Abstract

A thermal model for concentrator solar cells based on energy conservation principles was designed. Under 400X concentration with no cooling aid, the cell temperature would get up to about 1200 °C. Metal plates were used as heat sinks for cooling the system, which remarkably reduce the cell temperature. For a fixed concentration ratio, the cell temperature reduced as the heat sink area increased. In order to keep the cell at a constant temperature, the heat sink area needs to increase linearly as a function of the concentration ratio. GaInP/GaAs/Ge triple-junction solar cells were fabricated to verify the model. A cell temperature of 37 °C was measured when using a heat sink at 400X concentration.