A unifying study of tandem-junction,front-surface-field,and interdigitated-back-contact solar cells

A theoretical-experimental study of tandem-junction, front-surface-field, and interdigitated-back-contact solar cells is presented. The approach taken in the theoretical analysis emphasizes detailed qualitative physical reasoning which leads to quantitative results. This approach enables the three-dimensional boundary-value problems describing these solar cells to be made tractable. A major result is a unifying view of the physics underlying the performance of these cells. The important physical mechanisms are identified and described, and cell design considerations and trade-offs are discussed.