Operating principles of three-terminal solar cells

authored by

Emily Warren, Michael Rienaecker, Manuel Schnabel, Michael Deceglie, Robby Peibst, Adele Tamboli, Paul Stradins

Abstract

Most tandem solar cells are either two-terminal devices where the subcells are electrically connected in series or four terminal devices where each subcell is operated independently. There are trade-offs between the two integration schemes in terms of ease of fabrication, overall efficiency, and spectral sensitivity. Three-terminal (3T) tandem cells can combine the best aspects of both integration schemes if designed properly. Using a 3T design based on an interdigitated back contact (IBC) Si device with conductive front surface, combined with a wider bandgap III-V top cell, we discuss the operation of three terminal tandems in detail. We present technology computer aided design (TCAD) device physics simulations to describe trends in performance. We show that this type of 3T device can provide a robust operating mechanism to efficiently capture the solar spectrum without the need to current match sub-cells or fabricate complicated metal interconnects between cells.

External Organisation(s)

National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Institute for Solar Energy Research (ISFH)

Type

Conference contribution

Pages

2648-2650

No. of pages

3

Publication date

26.11.2018

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Energy Engineering and Power Technology, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.2018.8547611 (Access: Closed)