High Concentration CPV Reliability Progress at Emcore

Demonstrated or predicted system reliability has become one of the most important requirements for the financing of CPV deployments. In this paper national and international CPV systems and other optoelectronic product qualification standards and guidelines are reviewed for applicability to solar cells and receivers. Comparisons are made to the operating conditions, reliability and lifetime expectations for other optoelectronics devices and applications. From these test plans are established for the CPV solar cell and receiver package reliability studies carried out at Emcore. Test protocols along with observed results for CPV cells and receivers are summarized.