4-Terminal CPV Module Capable of Converting Global Normal Irradiance into Electricity

This paper investigates the outdoor performance of a new kind of hybrid concentrator photovoltaic module. The concept which we name, EyeCon, uses an array of Fresnel lenses to concentrate direct irradiance onto III-V four-junction solar cells while a large-area silicon cell absorbs diffuse sunlight and also acts as a heat distributing substrate. The preliminary results show that under a high ratio of direct to global irradiance (> 0.9) the concept is capable to convert up to 36.8 % of the global solar resource rather than just the direct beam. Moreover at a low ratio of direct to global irradiance (0.57) the hybrid module generates 30 % additional power with respect to the array of concentrator four-junction solar cells alone. The Eyecon module is applicable to all regions of the world and allows reaching the highest energy yield per module area of any PV technology.