ABSTRACT
For most of the last two decades the energy conversion efficiency of monolithic, two-terminal, two-junction solar cells has steadily increased The current leader in this field is the GalnP/GaAs tandem cell with an efficiency of 30%.. In this paper, we briefly review the technology of tandem cells with an emphasis on the GaInP/GaAs device structure and its near-term potential for powering communication satellites and far-term potential for large scale terrestrial concentrator applications. We then review key aspects of this device, focusing on some of the interesting problems that have been encountered over the years in the development of this device structure, e.g. spontaneous ordering of GaInP, heterointerface quality, dopant diffusion/memory effects, and large scale production efforts.
