Mass-adoption of thin-film silicon (TF-Si) photovoltaic modules as a renewable energy source can be viable if the cost of electricity production from the module is competitive with conventional energy solutions. Increased module performance (electrical power generated) is an approach to reduce this cost. Progress towards higher conversion efficiencies for 'champion' large area modules paves the way for mass-production module performance to follow. At TEL Solar AG, Trübbach, Switzerland, significant progress in the absolute stabilized module conversion efficiency has been achieved through optimized solar cell design that integrates high-quality amorphous and microcrystalline TF-Si-deposited materials with efficient light management and transparent conductive oxide layers in a tandem MICROMORPH ™ module. This letter reports a world record large area (1.43 m 2 ) stabilized module conversion efficiency of 12.34% certified by the European Solar Test Installation; an increase of more than 1.4% absolute compared with the previous record for a TF-Si triple junction large area module. This breakthrough result generates more than 13.2% stabilized efficiency from each equivalent 1 cm 2 of the active area of the full module.
Standardized power measurements of MICRO-MORPH tandem photovoltaic (PV) modules based on a spectrally tuneable flasher have been developed over the recent years at TEL Solar. The accurate calibration procedure includes all steps from a pair of primary calibrated component reference cells to the secondary calibrated reference module. A proper performance measurement under fully balanced spectral conditions is the starting point where the followed steps of cell limitation investigation and spectral responsivity measurement, both derived on large modules (Gen.5), are added. An improved hardware setup with a dynamic light-emitting-diode (LED) backlight array and a set of bandpass filters allow us to produce uniform LED floodlight and quasimonochromatic light for the spectral study of MICROMORPH modules. Spectral light quality and distribution is analyzed by an array spectrometer system of high accuracy to characterize pulsed sources. Besides full spectral mismatch consideration, all other aspects of transient effects are covered by the multiflash approach in use.
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