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A GaInP/Ga(In)As/GaNAsSb/Ge 4J solar cell grown using the combined MOVPE + MBE method is presented. This structure is used as a test bench to assess the effects caused by the integration of subcells and tunnel junctions into the full 4J structure. A significant degradation of the Ge bottom subcell emitter is observed during the growth of the GaNAsSb subcell, with a drop in the carrier collection efficiency at the high energy photon range that causes a~15% lower J sc and a V oc drop of~50 mV at 1-sun. The V oc of the GaNAsSb subcell is shown to drop by as much as~140 mV at 1-sun. No degradation in performance is observed in the tunnel junctions, and no further degradation is neither observed for the Ge subcell during the growth of the GaInP/Ga(In)As subcells. The hindered efficiency potential in this lattice-matched 4J architecture due to the degradation of the Ge and GaNAsSb subcells is discussed. At this stage of development, it is pertinent to have a closer look at the integration of components forming the 4J structure. For example, the insertion of the dilute nitride subcell in the 3J structure brings about added thermal loads to the Ge bottom subcell, an effect accentuated by the fact that dilute nitrides usually require an annealing step to improve their electronic properties. The dilute-nitride subcell itself suffers annealing during the growth of the upper subcells, which could be expected to have an impact on its performance. The focus has to be put in identifying and quantifying these effects, and redesigning the growth process to minimize their impact.In this work, we present a detailed characterization of our 4J solar cell, based on a prototype structure achieved by a combination of MOVPE + MBE growth methods, and using a GaNAsSb junction.This solar cell succeeds in integrating 4 component junctions into a monolithic, lattice matched structure, but it is still far from being a high efficiency device, mainly due to sub-optimum characteristics of the dilute nitride subcell. However, the device provides valuable insight into the integration of the dilute nitride subcell into a 4J solar cell. We focus mainly on the effect of thermal load on the performance of the Ge and GaNAsSb bottom subcells, and the tunnel junctions. It is found that significant losses are at stake, mainly in the Ge and GaNAsSb subcells, which can limit the potential of this 4J solar cell structure to compete in efficiency with other architectures.

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