study is unique in the range of tandem technologies assessed, including two-terminal (2T), three-terminal (3T) devices, and two types of four-terminal (4T) tandem devices, stacked 4T and spectral splitting 4T, although the latter is not discussed in-depth
For each category of tandem solar cell, the team looks at the technology at the cell level, scaling level, cell-to-module, manufacturing, reliability, costs, environmental impact topics, and commercialization risks, with a focus on challenges and opportunities
technical challenges as well as business-centered challenges
benefits and drawbacks to all architectures
4T configurations have the potential to leverage the ability to manufacture top and bottom junctions separately, giving it design and process flexibility advantages
given the amount of effort going into 2T architectures, they may also reach the market on a similar timeline
researchers provide a list of twelve physical and economic needs to be addressed if the technology is to reach 2% of market share by 2030
we are optimistic that the next 6 years will yield significant advances toward tandem commercialization