Conference article

Concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) systems with three-junction solar cells are already in the market. In the CPV market; photovoltaic systems with four cells are needed to make CPV more cost competitive. This is because systems with four cells have more yield than the existing three cell systems. Technically; making a stack of four cells imposes constrains on the choice of the materials (i.e. energy bandgap and lattice constant) and it involves complex and costly fabrication techniques. This paper suggests a design of a CPV system with two separate double-junction solar cells (i.e. four PV cells). The system proposed enables the operation of the four cells independently. It also offers high flexibility in the choice of the materials for making the solar cells. The system described in this paper involves a double-junction cell made of AlGaAs/Si; and another double-junction cell made of: InGaAsP/InGaAs. This paper presents the modeling approach and the response of the system under the standard conditions.

Photovoltaic; beam splitting; concentrating photovoltaic system