Alta Devices sets new GaAs solar cell conversion efficiency record at 28.9%

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Specialist gallium arsenide (GaAs) PV manufacturer Alta Devices, a subsidiary of Hanergy Group has achieved a new solar cell conversion efficiency record of 28.9%, which was certified by NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory). Image: Alta Devices

Specialist gallium arsenide (GaAs) PV manufacturer Alta Devices, a subsidiary of Hanergy Group has achieved a new solar cell conversion efficiency record of 28.9%, which was certified by NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory).

Alta Devices has been a perennial world record holder for GaAs solar cell efficiency. The company uses a metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) process as well as an epitaxial lift-off (ELO) technique, which creates a thin, flexible, and lightweight solar cell for niche applications. 

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One of Alta Devices founders, Professor Harry Atwater of Caltech said, “Achieving a new record for this class of devices is a landmark because a 1-sun, 1-junction cell is the archetypal solar cell. The fact that Alta is breaking its own record is also significant since many other teams have been actively attempting to break this record.”

The new record cell was said to be the first based on ‘Internal Luminescence Extraction’, which has enabled Alta to set the new record. Luminescence extraction is the escape of internal photons out of the front surface of a solar cell and minimise the emission out of the back surface to boost conversion efficiency.

8 October 2024
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 8-9 October 2024 is our second PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The event in 2023 was a sell out success and 2024 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.

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