Shockley–Queisser limit
Límite de Shockley–Queisser
- Date
- 1961 · confidence high
- Place
- Mountain View, California, United States
- Credited to
- William Shockley y Hans-Joachim Queisser
- Field
- Matter & energy
What was discovered
Theoretical model that sets the maximum conversion efficiency of a single-junction solar cell, calculated by Shockley and Queisser from the detailed balance of radiative recombination, around 30% for an optimal band gap.
What it led to
- drove the development of multi-junction solar cells to exceed the theoretical limit
- became the benchmark for evaluating the efficiency of new photovoltaic technologies
- guided research toward semiconductor materials with an optimal band gap