Simulated potential for enhanced performance of mechanically stacked hybrid III–V/Si tandem photovoltaic modules using DC–DC converters

This work examines a tandem module design with GaInP2 mechanically stacked on top of crystalline Si, using a detailed photovoltaic (PV) system model to simulate four-terminal (4T) unconstrained and two-terminal voltage-matched (2T VM) parallel architectures. Module-level power electronics is proposed for the 2T VM module design to enhance its performance over the breadth of temperatures experienced by a typical PV installation. Annual, hourly simulations of various scenarios indicate that this design can reduce annual energy losses to ∼0.5% relative to the 4T module configuration. Consideration is given to both performance and practical design for building or ground mount installations, emphasizing compatibility with existing standard Si modules.