Thermodynamic limit of bifacial double-junction tandem solar cells

A traditional single-junction solar panel cannot harness ground-scattered light (albedo reflectance, RA), and also suffers from the fundamental sub-band-gap and the thermalization losses. In this paper, we explain how a “bifacial tandem” panel would dramatically reduce these losses, with correspondi...

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Veröffentlicht in:Applied physics letters 2015-11, Vol.107 (22)
Hauptverfasser: Ryyan Khan, M., Alam, Muhammad A.
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:A traditional single-junction solar panel cannot harness ground-scattered light (albedo reflectance, RA), and also suffers from the fundamental sub-band-gap and the thermalization losses. In this paper, we explain how a “bifacial tandem” panel would dramatically reduce these losses, with corresponding improvement in thermodynamic performance. Our study predicts (i) the optimum combination of the band-gaps, empirically given by Eg(t)opt≈Eg(b)opt(2+RA)/3+(1−RA) and the (ii) corresponding optimum normalized output power given by ηT(opt)*≈RA (2ηSJ(opt))+(1−RA)ηDJ(opt). Empirically, ηT(opt)* interpolates between the thermodynamic efficiency limit of classical double-junction tandem cell (ηDJ) and twice that of a single-junction cell (ηSJ). We conclude by explaining how the fundamental loss mechanisms evolve with RA in a bifacial tandem cell.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.4936341