Integrating GaAs, Si, and Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells in Multijunction Devices and Probing Harsh Condition Behavior

Mechanically stacked single illuminated area sequential series multijunction dye-sensitized solar cells (SSM-DSCs) were fabricated with varying bottom devices including DSC, silicon (Si), and gallium arsenide (GaAs). The use of near-infrared (>750 nm) photons for conversion into electricity is probed for each of the three technologies. The effect of using these photons on multijunction device power conversion efficiencies is investigated with a three-subcell SSM-DSC design where the top and middle subcells were DSC devices with D35 and B11 sensitizers, respectively. The power conversion efficiencies were found to follow the order: DSC/DSC/GaAs > DSC/DSC/DSC > DSC/DSC/Si. Low-light conditions were examined for the third subcell technologies as independent solar cells to understand the effects of receiving low light intensity as part of a multijunction system. GaAs and DSC as bottom devices both demonstrated a superior response under filtered or reduced illumination to that of Si in these studies. The influence of harsh temperatures on DSC device performance was also examined.

Automated summary

The mechanically stacked single illuminated area sequential series multijunction dye-sensitized solar cells were fabricated with different bottom devices including DSC, Si, and GaAs, and the performance was investigated. The conversion of near-infrared photons and the response to low-light conditions for different technologies were studied, with GaAs and DSC showing superior performance under harsh temperatures.