What is a Tandem Solar Cell? How is it Different from the Conventional Solar Cell?

This question is part of the Super Big Solar Panel FAQ from Solar Mango, where expert answers to over 100 important questions on solar panels are provided.

The solar panels we use typically have one layer of semiconducting solar cells.

Tandem solar cells comprise more than one layer, and are effectively a stack of different solar cells on top of each other.

Tandem solar cells can either be individual cells or connected in series, and tandem solar cells typically have much higher efficiencies than the conventional single-junction solar cells that are used today in most solar modules.

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The most common arrangement for tandem cells is to grow them monolithically so that all the cells are grown as layers on the substrate and tunnel junctions connect the individual cells.Thus it becomes optimised to each section of the solar spectrum and capture more energy from the sun.

Because it has multiple p-n junctions, a tandem solar cell is a type of multi-junction cell.

Source: Tandem Solar Cells from Solar Mango’s Solar Dictionary

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