The limiting efficiency of four-band cells revisited

Abstract

The limiting theoretical efficiency of four-band solar cells is revisited. In previous work, researchers have looked at the theoretical efficiency of four band cells where the smallest of the three sub-band gaps is closest to the valence band and the largest closest to the conduction band. In this work, limits are calculated also for other possible band configurations. In multi-band cells, photon selectivity can be assured by adjusting the band widths. The present work shows that previous authors have put too rigid constraints on the band structure to achieve spectral selectivity. Relieving these constraints gives a considerably higher limiting efficiency for cells with band width restriction than previously reported. The highest efficiency for four-band cells with band width restriction is found to be 69.4 %.