Passive rare earth tandem solar cell

US8039737B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Translucent LLC · US

Inventors

• Andrew Clark · Shrewsbury, US
• Robin Smith · Palo Alto, US
• Richard Hamilton Sewell · Los Altos, US
• Scott Semans · Palo Alto, US
• F. Erdem Arkun · Palo Alto, US
• Michael S. Lebby · Apache Junction, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 16, 2009
• Grant date: Oct 18, 2011
• Expiry date: Nov 16, 2029

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y02E10/547

Abstract

The use of rare-earth (RE+O, N, P) based materials to transition between two semiconductor materials is disclosed. Rare earth based oxides, nitrides and phosphides provide a wide range of lattice spacings enabling, compressive, tensile or stress-free lattice matching with Group IV, III-V, and Group II-VI compounds. Disclosed embodiments include tandem solar cells.