Feasibility study of two‐terminal tandem solar cells integrated with smart stack,areal current matching,and low concentration

The “SMAC module” is a low‐cost, high‐efficiency photovoltaic module that integrates three techniques: a “SM art stack,” “A real current matching,” and “solar C oncentration.” This paper presents the result of a proof‐of‐concept study of the SMAC module conducted using device simulations and indoor experiments. The simulation results show that an SMAC module with a two‐terminal GaAs/Si tandem solar cell can achieve an efficiency of approximately 30% and superior electricity generation per unit top cell area. The performance of the GaAs/Si solar cell developed in this study is similar to that of a GaAs/InGaAsP solar cell under concentrated artificial sunlight and is consistent with the simulation results. © 2016 The Authors. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.