Performance Measurement of Emerging 3- and 4-Terminal Tandem Solar Cells

Abstract

Tandem solar cells are not limited to the conventional two-terminal (2-T) configuration. Multi-terminal designs like three-terminal (3-T) and four-terminal (4-T) devices have gained increasing attention in the PV community due to their relaxed current-matching requirement between subcells and their potential for enhanced energy yield. However, reliable and standardized methods for evaluating the performance of multi-terminal tandems remain underdeveloped. This work addresses this gap by providing comprehensive measurement guidelines tailored to these advanced configurations. We examine key coupling mechanisms between subcells, including the shared electrical load in 3-T devices and optical luminescent coupling in both 3-T and 4-T devices, to enable accurate and consistent performance evaluation. Furthermore, we propose two stabilized measurement methods for emerging 3-T tandem cells incorporating perovskite subcells: (1) a two-dimensional maximum-power-point tracking (MPPT) approach that continuously tracks both subcells’ maximum power points (P_MAX) until convergence to stabilized outputs, and (2) a hybrid approach that combines MPPT for one subcell with stabilized current recording under fixed voltage biases near the P_MAX of the other, allowing robust extraction of the overall stabilized P_MAX (termed “MPPT + Asymptotic P_MAX scan” method). These methods directly address the dynamic current responses inherent to perovskite-containing tandems, providing a foundation for meaningful and reproducible performance comparisons.