Four-terminal organic solar cell modules with increased annual energy yield
conference paper
The authors present experimental results on mechanically stacked organic solar modules and their advantage over standard tandem architectures. A four-terminal configuration of two single junction modules with complementary absorbing active layers uses the more efficient energy conversion of a tandem structure without the necessity of matching currents or voltages of electrically connected subcells. The presented combination of semitransparent and opaque solar cells consists of solution processed polymer-fullerene blends as active materials. A cost-effective mechanical scribing process is applied for the patterning of the deposited layers. The best devices have an efficiency of over 6.5% on an aperture area of 16 cm2 which equals a gain of 30% over the best single junction module fabricated by the same process. Optical simulations demonstrate a 32% increased annual energy output of a mechanically stacked device in comparison to a monolithic tandem structure using an equivalent geometry. © 2013 SPIE.
Topics
TNO Identifier
485018
ISSN
0277786X
ISBN
9780819496805
Publisher
SPIE
Article nr.
88300I
Source title
Organic Photovoltaics XIV, 27-29 August 2013, San Diego, CA, USA