Three-terminal III–V/Si tandem solar cells enabled by a transparent conductive adhesive

Schnabel, Manuel; Schulte‐Huxel, Henning; Rienäcker, Michael; Warren, Emily L.; Ndione, Paul F.; Nemeth, Bill; Klein, Talysa R.; Hest, Maikel van; Geisz, John F.; Peibst, Robby; Stradins, Paul; Tamboli, Adele C.

doi:10.1039/c9se00893d

Cited by 52 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Warren et al proposed a tunneling junction type tandem cell with series‐connected subcell diodes interconnected by a tunneling junction. The latter has recently been demonstrated experimentally . Both authors elaborate the device physics by using sophisticated semiconductor device simulators and demonstrate that both concepts can achieve efficiencies similar to 4T tandem cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The latter has recently been demonstrated experimentally. 44 Both authors elaborate the device physics by using sophisticated semiconductor device simulators and demonstrate that both concepts can achieve efficiencies similar to 4T tandem cells. A detailed experimental characterization and experimentally based analysis of 3T-IBC bottom cells is still lacking.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Up to this point, the 3T-IBC cell using solely 2Ts and the resulting 4T and2T tandems have been described using state-of-the-art solar cell models [51][52][53]. As soon as we add a third terminal (a second base contact) to a 2T Si cell, the cell and the operation of such a cell change significantly 16,43,44. 2.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Back‐contacted bottom cells with three terminals: Maximizing power extraction from current‐mismatched tandem cells

Rienäcker

Warren

Schnabel

et al. 2019

Progress in Photovoltaics

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Multi‐junction cells can significantly improve the energy yield of photovoltaic systems over a single‐junction cell. The internal interconnection scheme of the subcells is an important aspect in determining the resulting levelized cost of electricity. For a dual‐junction cell, two approaches are commonly discussed: series‐connected tandem cells with two terminals or independently working subcells in a four‐terminal (4T) tandem device. In this paper, we explore the working principle and the operation modes of a third, rarely discussed option: a three‐terminal (3T) tandem cell using a back‐contacted bottom cell with 3Ts. We use current–voltage measurements of illuminated 3T interdigitated back contact cells and confirm that the front and rear base contacts are at similar quasi‐Fermi level positions, which enables the bottom cell to either efficiently collect surplus carriers, in the case of a current‐limiting or carrier injecting top cell, or inject majority carriers, in the case of a current‐limiting bottom cell. As a result, no current matching is needed. The power output of an idealized 3T bottom cell without resistive effects is independent of the current density applied from the top cell. These characteristics of the 3T bottom cells enable a 3T tandem to operate as efficiently as a 4T tandem, while being compatible with monolithic design and not requiring intermediate grids. We propose a simple equivalent circuit model including additional resistive effects, which describes a real 3T bottom cell and achieves excellent agreement to the experiment. We deduce design guidelines for a 3T bottom cell in different operation regimes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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confidence: 99%

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Back‐contacted bottom cells with three terminals: Maximizing power extraction from current‐mismatched tandem cells

Rienäcker

Warren

Schnabel

et al. 2019

Progress in Photovoltaics

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“…The last configuration left in figure 2(c) is three-terminal monolithically stacked tandem, it is similar to 2T device only the difference is it requires an interdigitated back contact (IBC) bottom cell having two contact of opposite polarity on the back [29]. It is understood that 2T tandem cell with a single front-back (FB) circuit, where two cells are connected with a transparent conducting adhesive (TCA) or with tunnel junction (TJ), and an additional second terminal is created at the bottom cell, but these two are not independent [29,30]. In the 3T configuration, the two circuits share a terminal, therefore they are not independent and cannot be measured separately, with their outputs added.…”

Section: Tandem Solar Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review on Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells

Chauhan¹,

Singh²

2021

Preprint

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The tandem Solar cell has high power conversion efficiency (PCE), so they are taken as the next step in photovoltaic evolution. The tandem solar cell also overcome the limitations of Single-junction solar cells by reducing thermalization losses and also reduce the fabrication cost. The fabrication of tandem solar cells is highly efficient after the origination of halide perovskite absorber material, this material will shape the future of tandem solar cells. Researchers have already shown that this material can convert light more efficiently than standalone sub cell. Today, researchers around the world are keeping the configuration of a tandem solar cell as their agenda. A Tandem solar cell is a stacking of multiple layers having different bandgaps with specific maximum absorption and width. We reviewed perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells with different sub-module configurations. Move forward, we discuss the tandem module technology, sub cell of a tandem can be wired in several ways two terminals 2T monolithic and mechanically stacked, a four-terminal 4T mechanically stacked, and three-terminal 3T monolithic stack devices. This review paper provides a side-by-side comparison of theoretical efficiencies of multijunction solar cells. The highest efficiency has been evaluated at 39.4% for a three-level structure.

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“…The intermediate is the less commonly known three‐terminal (3T) tandem which can be made from an interdigitated back contact (IBC) rear sub‐cell and a wide‐ E g front sub‐cell, connected monolithically through a recombination junction (Figure 2B). [ 75,79,80 ] If a monolithic IBC 3T tandem configuration is considered, it typically must be illuminated in substrate due to the opacity of the IBC contacts that have to be patterned first on the substrate. [ 79 ] This configuration has the advantage of combining the optical coupling and lower parasitic absorption losses of a 2‐terminal monolithic tandem with the wider available bandgap range and lower spectral dependency of a 4‐terminal tandem.…”

Section: Tandem Architecture: Picking Your Roadmapmentioning

confidence: 99%

Choose Your Own Adventure: Fabrication of Monolithic All‐Perovskite Tandem Photovoltaics

et al. 2020

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power conversion efficiencies (PCE) certified over 25% [9] merely 10 years after their first report (no small feat). [10,11] Perovskites have also made rapid progress in stability [12] (which is arguably their Achilles heel) now with regular reports of thousands of hours, [13-17] reaching up to one year, [18] of device operational stability, even at elevated temperatures. [19,20] Finally, there have been impressive efforts in scaling the MHP deposition methods to maintain film uniformity over larger areas, through the use of novel solvent chemistries [21-23] and a variety of processing techniques [24,25] which has culminated in a certified 17.25% PCE for a ≈20 cm 2 module [26] and 17.9% PCE for a >800 cm 2 module. [27] An additional unique characteristic of MHPs is the ability to widely tune the composition of ABX 3 where A is usually a mixture of methylammonium (MA +), formamidinium (FA +) and cesium (Cs +); B can be a mixture of Pb 2+ and Sn 2+ ; and X is typically a mixture of I − , Br − , and Cl −. Changing the composition allows the bandgap (E g) to be modulated from ≈1.2 to >2.4 eV. [28-32] A large range of compositions and bandgaps have been used to make solar cells with PCEs over 20%. [4,33-39] The ability to reach high efficiencies at a wide range of bandgaps naturally motivates the use of perovskites in multijunction photovoltaics with various absorbers employed in tandem. By coupling together two MHPs with complementary bandgaps into a tandem device (Figure 1A), the incident solar spectrum can be more efficiently converted than in a single bandgap device by reducing the thermalization losses. This loss reduction increases the maximum attainable PCE. [40] Pairing the high efficiency (>30%) with the promises for ultralow cost manufacturing and light weight makes all-perovskite tandems one of the most exciting PV technologies in a generation. This combination of characteristics not only has the potential to further lower the solar electricity costs, but also to open the field to applications beyond the capabilities of the crystalline silicon dominant market, such as unmanned aerial vehicles. [41-44] While single-junction perovskite cells currently have demonstrated the highest efficiencies among polycrystalline thin-film PVs, they are likely to have a maximum practical efficiency of ≈28% PCE whereas all-perovskite tandems have a clear path to well over 30%. [40,45] There has been a flurry of work on monolithic, 2-terminal (2T) perovskite-based tandems, pairing a wide-E g MHP with materials such as low-E g tin/lead (Sn/Pb) Metal halide perovskites (MHPs) have transfixed the photovoltaic (PV) community due to their outstanding and tunable optoelectronic properties coupled to demonstrations of high-power conversion efficiencies (PCE) at a range of bandgaps. This has motivated the field to push perovskites to reach the highest possible performance. One way to increase the efficiency is by fabricating multijunction solar cells, which can split the solar spectrum, reducing thermalization loss. Low-cost all-pero...

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Three-terminal III–V/Si tandem solar cells enabled by a transparent conductive adhesive

Abstract: Three-terminal tandem solar cell with conductive adhesive interconnect and back-contacted bottom cell delivers 27.3% efficiency.

Cited by 52 publications

References 38 publications

Back‐contacted bottom cells with three terminals: Maximizing power extraction from current‐mismatched tandem cells

Back‐contacted bottom cells with three terminals: Maximizing power extraction from current‐mismatched tandem cells

A Review on Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells

Choose Your Own Adventure: Fabrication of Monolithic All‐Perovskite Tandem Photovoltaics

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