Technical issues and challenges in the fabrication of a 144-Cell 500× Concentrating Photovoltaic receiver

Concentrating Photovoltaics (CPV) aims to reduce the cost of photovoltaic applications by replacing part of the semiconductor material with a less expensive concentrating material. The significant increase in irradiance and the related reduction of semiconductor area introduce some criticisms that affect the design, fabrication and operating stages. The system needs to handle high power and current densities and high heat fluxes, without having repercussions on the cost, the size and the weight of the module. The concentrating photovoltaic is an increasing market and a number of commercial companies has started or is starting to produce CPV receivers. Many papers have been published on the improvement in cell efficiency and on new system's design, but there is a lack of information about the manufacturing stage. An in depth investigation into benefits and weaknesses of assembly methods need to be carried out. This paper describes all the issues and the challenges faced during the fabrication of a novel large densely-packed system.