Abstract:In a monolithic perovskite/c-Si tandem device, the perovskite top cell has to be deposited onto a flat c-Si bottom cell without anti-reflective front side texture, to avoid fabrication issues. We use optical simulations to analyze the reflection losses that this induces. We then systematically minimize these losses by introducing surface textures in combination with a so-called burial layer to keep the perovskite top cell flat. Optical simulations show that, even with a flat top cell, the monolithic perovskite/c-Si tandem device can reach a matched photocurrent density as high as 19.57 mA/cm Korte, R. Schlatmann, M. K. Nazeeruddin, A. Hagfeldt, M. Gratzel, and B. Rech, "Monolithic perovskite/silicon-heterojunction tandem solar cells processed at low temperature," Energy Environ. Sci. 9(1), 81-88 (2015). 16.
We have applied an optical splitting system in order to achieve very high conversion efficiency for a full spectrum multi-junction solar cell. This system consists of multiple solar cells with different band gap optically coupled via an “optical splitter.” An optical splitter is a multi-layered beam splitter with very high reflection in the shorter-wave-length range and very high transmission in the longer-wave-length range. By splitting the incident solar spectrum and distributing it to each solar cell, the solar energy can be managed more efficiently. We have fabricated optical splitters and used them with a wide-gap amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar cell or a CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cell as top cells, combined with mono-crystalline silicon heterojunction (HJ) solar cells as bottom cells. We have achieved with a 550 nm cutoff splitter an active area conversion efficiency of over 25% using a-Si and HJ solar cells and 28% using perovskite and HJ solar cells.
A certified 28.3% efficient monolithic perovskite-silicon tandem (PST) solar cell with a mixed self-assembled monolayer (SAM) containing carbazole cores with H-ligands (2PACz) and methoxy-ligands (MeO-2PACz) is reported. Our analysis revealed that there existed uncovered areas of MeO-2PACz on indium tin oxide, which would be caused by the steric effect, and they were filled with 2PACz in the mixed SAM, leading to the improvement of fill factors in the PST cells. This result was explained by the passivation qualities as hole transport layers and the local interaction between methoxy ligands and perovskite materials.
We investigate gentle front side textures for perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. These textures enhance the absorption of sunlight, yet are sufficiently gentle to allow deposition of an efficient perovskite top cell. We present a tandem solar cell with such gentle texture, fabricated by Kaneka corporation, with an efficiency as high as 28.6%. We perform an extensive ray-optics study, exploring non-conformal textures at the front and rear side of the perovskite layer. Our results reveal that a gentle texture with steepness of only 23° can be more optically efficient than conventional textures with more than double that steepness. We also show that the observed anti-reflective effect of such gentle textures is not based a double bounce, but on light trapping by total internal reflection. As a result, the optical effects of the encapsulation layers play an important role, and have to be accounted for when evaluating the texture design for perovskite/silicon tandems.
We focused on fluorine tin oxide (FTO)-coated glass substrates for perovskite solar cells (PVSCs) and studied the effects of the optical properties and surface morphology on the short-circuit current density (Jsc). The PVSC on our FTO substrate demonstrated a gain in Jsc by 1.4–1.6 mA/cm2, compared with the PVSCs on commercial FTO substrates. This is attributed not only to the low absorption of the FTO substrate but also to the suppression of reflection loss, caused by the light trapping effect on the textured surface. Finally, the power conversion efficiency of our PVSC reached >21% with less hysteresis.
Flexible solar cells with a Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) absorber layer were fabricated on a polyimide thin film using a lift-off process. Polyimide-coated soda-lime glass (SLG) was used as a substrate for fabricating CIGS solar cells before the lift-off process conducted to make the cells flexible. A conversion efficiency of 13.4% was achieved by low temperature deposition; this value is comparable to that obtained by direct deposition on a rigid glass substrate even without an external Na source. The final conversion efficiency after the lift-off process was 12.7% with some area correction due to the partial peeling-off between CIGS and Mo. Open-circuit voltage and fill factor did not change before and after the lift-off process, suggesting that the lift-off process did not give any physical damage.
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