Luminescence based series resistance mapping of III-V multijunction solar cells

A method to measure the series resistance of Ga0.5In0.5P/Ga(In)As/Ge triple-junction solar cells spatially resolved is developed, based on luminescence imaging. With the help of network simulations, the dependence of the local series resistance on the external subcell illumination intensities and biasing voltage is predicted and the optimum measurement conditions are clarified. Experimentally, specially prepared test cells with partially irradiated areas are used to verify the capabilities of the method. It is shown that the method is not sensitive to variations of the dark I–V parameters of the subcells