Equivalent circuit analysis of radiative coupling in monolithic tandem solar cells

Abstract

As solar cell efficiency improves towards the Shockley-Queisser limit, so does the radiative efficiency of the cell. For tandem stacks of cells where energy conversion efficiency now exceeds 46%, radiative coupling between the cells is becoming increasingly important to consider in cell design, measurement, and performance prediction. We show how an equivalent circuit model can capture the complex radiative interactions between cells in such tandem stacks, allowing more insight into the impact on cell performance. The circuit's use is demonstrated by deriving results relevant to the critical step of eliminating coupling effects from measured cell spectral responses.