New Triple-Junction Solar Cell Assembly Process for Concentrator Photovoltaic Applications.

We developed a new assembly process to fabricate concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules based on microelectronic surface mount technologies (SMT). Functional characterizations of resultant modules demonstrated that the configuration and process did not degrade solar cell performance. Dimensional characterizations showed high placement accuracy. The thermal performance was compared to a standard CPV module using ANSYS finite element thermal simulations. The SMT based module was shown to dissipate heat more efficiently than the conventional module with a device temperature of 58 +/- 0.24 degrees C compared to 69 +/- 0.34 degrees C. This proof of concept demonstrates viability of the new assembly process with a strong potential to reduce CPV integration costs.