The authors present experimental results on mechanically stacked organic solar modules and their advantage over standard tandem architectures. A four-terminal configuration of two single junction modules with complementary absorbing active layers uses the more efficient energy conversion of a tandem structure without the necessity of matching currents or voltages of electrically connected subcells. The presented combination of semitransparent and opaque solar cells consists of solution processed polymer-fullerene blends as active materials. A cost-effective mechanical scribing process is applied for the patterning of the deposited layers. The best devices have an efficiency of over 6.5% on an aperture area of 16 cm² which equals a gain of 30% over the best single junction module fabricated by the same process. Optical simulations demonstrate a 32% increased annual energy output of a mechanically stacked device in comparison to a monolithic tandem structure using an equivalent geometry.

Date Published: 17 October 2013
PDF: 13 pages
Proc. SPIE 8830, Organic Photovoltaics XIV, 88300I (17 October 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2024023

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8830:
Organic Photovoltaics XIV
Zakya H. Kafafi; Paul A. Lane, Editor(s)