nz0c00068_si_001.pdf (184.03 kB)
A Taxonomy for Three-Terminal Tandem Solar Cells
journal contribution
posted on 2020-03-23, 14:38 authored by Emily L. Warren, William E. McMahon, Michael Rienäcker, Kaitlyn T. VanSant, Riley C. Whitehead, Robby Peibst, Adele C. TamboliTandem
and multijunction solar cells offer the only demonstrated path to
terrestrial 1-sun solar cell efficiency over 30%. Three-terminal tandem
(3TT) solar cells can overcome some of the limitations of two-terminal
and four-terminal tandem solar cell designs. However, the coupled
nature of the cells adds a degree of complexity to the devices themselves
and the ways that their performance can be measured and reported.
While many different configurations of 3TT devices have been proposed,
there is no standard taxonomy to discuss the device structure or loading
topology. This Perspective proposes a taxonomy for 3TT solar cells
to enable a common nomenclature for discussing these devices and their
performance. It also provides a brief history of three-terminal devices
in the literature and demonstrates that many different 3TT devices
can work at efficiencies above 30% if properly designed.