Materials and Designs for Ultrahigh-Efficiency Photovoltaics

Methods for systematically addressing the thermodynamic efficiency losses in current photovoltaics can enable a next phase of photovoltaic science and engineering – ultrahigh efficiency photovoltaics. This development takes advantage of recent advances in the control of light at the nanometer and micron length scales, coupled with emerging materials fabrication approaches, and will allow the development of solar cells with efficiencies in the 50–70% range. The potential implications in practical, cost-effective photovoltaics are significant.