Shunt quenching and concept of independent global shunt in multijunction solar cells

Abstract

We show that two-terminal multijunction cells interconnected by tunnel junctions are fairly immune to individual local shunts, thanks to the shunt quenching. Interestingly, they may still suffer from global shunts. We revise the paradigm of a multijunction cell as a simple serial connection of component cells. This paradigm remains valid only for multijunction cells with laterally conductive interlayers. Instead, a new equivalent circuit is proposed and verified by measurement and simulations. As a main approach, selective illumination is applied and the voltage is measured at the end terminals. The global shunt is seen as a shift from logarithmic to linear intensity response. The presence of tunnel junction is important for an optimum configuration of tandem structures such as metal-halide perovskite with crystalline silicon solar cell.