Hot Lattice - a New Approach to Hot Carrier Solar Cells

29th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition; 325-327
This paper calculates the effects of interface thermal conductance of energy selective contacts on the efficiency of hot carrier solar cells (HCSC). It proposes that hot lattice could enable HCSCs not to depend on the long thermal lifetime and other ideal conditions and hence open a new approach to HCSC. This is due to the fact that when lattice temperature approaching carrier temperature, thermalization loss drops. Calculation shows thermalized heat is enough to heat thin absorbers to above 800K with low interface thermal conductance less than 100W/m2/k. In this scenario, efficiency above 40% of a single cell is predicted by using more practical parameters.