Prototype of a concentrator photovoltaic cell

该项目将制造一种新的聚光光伏（CPV）太阳能电池技术的原型。 在CPV中，使用透镜或镜子将太阳光聚焦到小型但高效的太阳能电池上。 大多数高效率CPV电池使用Ge作为衬底，由于其昂贵和稀缺，这是一个严重的缺点。 因此，CPV通常仅限于高太阳辐照度地区的大型太阳能发电场。 我们解决这个问题的合理设计和合成的基于硅的光伏器件，取代昂贵的锗与更便宜的硅基板，从而降低成本，同时具有相当的性能，现有的CPV电池。 通过降低成本，我们预计CPV技术将成为大型公用事业市场的主流，但也适用于城市环境和太阳辐射较低地区（如加拿大）中浓度较低的小型商业规模项目。

This project will fabricate the prototype for a new concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) solar cell technology. In CPV, a lens or mirror is used to focus sunlight onto a small but highly efficient solar cell. Most high efficiency CPV cells use Ge as a substrate, which is a serious drawback due to its expense and scarcity. As a result, CPV is typically restricted to large solar farms in areas of high solar irradiance. We address this problem by the rational design and synthesis of a nanowire-based PV device that replaces expensive Ge with cheaper Si substrates, thereby lowering cost while having comparable performance to existing CPV cells. By lowering cost, we expect CPV technology to become mainstream for both the large-scale utility market, but also for smaller, commercial scale projects at lower concentration factors in the urban environment and in areas of lower solar irradiance such as Canada.