Enhanced efficiency for voltage matched stacked multi-junction cells: Optimization with yearly temperature and spectra variations

Lentine, Anthony L.; Nielson, Gregory N.; Okandan, Murat; Cruz-Campa, Jose-Luis; Tauke‐Pedretti, Anna

doi:10.1109/pvsc.2013.6744266

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…All in all, the results show that voltage-matched modules should be the preferred type of area de-coupled modules. This finding is in agreement with the work of Lentine et al [3], [4], who also found that voltagematched tandem devices perform excellent under changing conditions. The reader should bear in mind that the model used in this work does not take non-ideal mechanisms, like the temperature dependence of semiconductor band gaps, into consideration.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…For the other five spectra, there is an overlap between the curves for four-terminal devices and voltage matched area de-coupled modules, while the efficiency of current-matched area de-coupled modules is somewhat lower. This shows the superior spectral flexibility of voltage matched devices, in line with the findings of Lentine et al [3], [4]. Note that the peak efficiency of the series-connected stack is moving from chart to chart.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 86%

“…In general one would therefore expect some current-or voltage-mismatch to occur in area de-coupled modules when the actual conditions differ from the design conditions. It has, however, been shown that voltage-matched two-terminal devices are able to perform almost as well as four-terminal devices with varying spectrum and cell temperature, with expected differences in the annual yield of 1-2 % [3], [4]. The cited work considered modules with cells of equal sizes that were horizontally seriesconnected in strings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The present work extends the analysis carried out in Refs. [1], [3] and [4] by examining how different spectra and module temperatures affect the theoretical efficiency of two-terminal area de-coupled modules compared to that of four-terminal devices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spectral and temperature sensitivity of area de-coupled tandem modules

Strandberg

2015

2015 IEEE 42nd Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC)

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Abstract-Area de-coupling is a recently suggested method for current-or voltage-matching two-terminal tandem modules. It has previously been shown that under standard conditions, area de-coupled modules have the same theoretical efficiency as four-terminal tandem cells for any combinations of band gaps. In this work, the spectral and temperature sensitivity of ideal area de-coupled modules is investigated by detailed balance modeling. Voltage-matched area de-coupled modules are found to be considerably less sensitive to changes in the spectrum than current-matched modules. Current-matched modules are, on the other hand, found to be less sensitive to changes in the temperature. Under normal conditions, the difference in temperature sensitivity has a negligible impact on the efficiency compared to the difference in spectral sensitivity, making voltage-matched modules the preferred choice. The difference in efficiency between an area de-coupled voltage-matched module and a four-terminal device is found to be too small to be of any practical consequence even under changing conditions. This finding is in agreement with earlier work by Lentine et al. on microsystem-enabled photovoltaic modules.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spectral and temperature sensitivity of area de-coupled tandem modules

Strandberg

2015

2015 IEEE 42nd Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC)

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“…Various VM module designs have already been evaluated theoretically in the literature. 7,[10][11][12][13][14] The general layout is presented in Fig. 1, where strings of serially connected top cells and strings of serially connected bottom cells are combined in parallel to form a 2T device.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental demonstration of voltage-matched two-terminal tandem minimodules

Alberi

Moore

2019

J. Photon. Energy

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Mechanically stacked tandem solar cells are a potential near-term solution for increasing the efficiency of photovoltaic modules. Practical implementation requires an interconnection approach that maximizes efficiency and minimizes complexity and cost. Connecting the top and bottom cells in a voltage-matched configuration allows two-terminal modules to be fabricated without altering the cell design or processing methods. Here, we experimentally demonstrate two-terminal voltage-matched GaInP 2 ∕Si minimodules. The two-terminal minimodules performed just as well as four terminal configurations when voltage-matching requirements were met. The magnitude of the efficiency loss experienced by the voltagematched minimodule when voltage-matched conditions were not met depends on whether the voltage was constrained by the GaInP 2 or Si cells. Monte Carlo simulations also indicate that the two-terminal voltage-matched tandems respond to small cell-to-cell parameter variations in a similar manner as four terminal tandems.

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