Title :
Metal Pillar Interconnection Topology for Bonded Two-Terminal Multijunction III–V Solar Cells
Author :
McMahon, William E. ; Lin, Chu-Ti ; Ward, J. Scott ; Geisz, John F. ; Wanlass, M.W. ; Carapella, J.J. ; OlavarriÌa, W. ; Young, Michelle ; Steiner, Myles A. ; France, Ryan M. ; Kibbler, A.E. ; Duda, A. ; Olson, J.M. ; Perl, Emmett E. ; Friedman, Daniel J
Author_Institution :
Nat. Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO, USA
Abstract :
Metal-interconnected multijunction solar cells offer one pathway toward efficiencies in excess of 50%. However, if a three- or four-terminal configuration is used, optical losses from the interfacial grid can be considerable. Here, we examine an alternative that provides an optimal interconnection for two-terminal bonded devices. This “pillar-array” topology is optimized by minimizing the sum of all power losses, including shadow losses and numerically computed electrical losses. Numerical modeling is used to illustrate the benefit of a pillar-array interfacial metallization for some two-terminal configurations.
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; bonding processes; interconnections; numerical analysis; optical losses; semiconductor device metallisation; solar cells; topology; bonded two-terminal multijunction III-V solar cells; electrical losses; four-terminal configuration; interfacial grid; metal pillar interconnection topology; metal-interconnected multijunction solar cells; minimisation; numerical modeling; optical losses; optimal interconnection; optimisation; pillar-array interfacial metallization; pillar-array topology; power losses; shadow losses; three-terminal configuration; two-terminal bonded devices; two-terminal configurations; Metallization; Photonic band gap; Photovoltaic cells; Photovoltaic systems; Topology; Bonding processes; III–V semiconductor materials; optimization; photovoltaic cells; semiconductor device modeling;
Journal_Title :
Photovoltaics, IEEE Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JPHOTOV.2012.2234208
