Interlayer Microstructure Analysis of the Transition Zone in the Silicon/Perovskite Tandem Solar Cell

Abstract

The aim of the paper was to determine the morphology of the layers and the microstructure of the transition zone present in the proposed tandem solar structure. The bottom-silicon solar cell plays a double role: first as a highly porous non-reflecting material, and second as a scaffold for top-perovskite cell. In the presented solution, the use of a porous layer made of (e.g., TiO2) is excluded in favor of chemically etched wires on the silicon surface. The porous layer of silicon consists of nano- and microwires etched with metal assisted etching (MAE). The perovskite layer is introduced by a two-step chemical method into the spaces between the wires to fully fill them and intentionally form an additional capping layer at the same time. To examine the structure made in this way, advanced microscopic methods were used including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), also in high resolution.

Morphology of an ITO recombination layer deposited on a silicon wire texture for potential silicon/perovskite tandem solar cell applications

“…The silver nanoparticles deposition was proceeded by dipping in a 0.02 M aqueous solution of silver nitrate (> 99.8% Sigma-Aldrich pure p.a.) in DI water, acidified with 5 M HF in a volume ratio of 1:1 at a time of 20 s. The etching process was carried out in HF:H2O2 solution with a 10:1 volume ratio at a time of 10, 20, and 30 s leading to a homogeneous structure of wires of a specific height equal to average values of 234, 377, and 550 nm, respectively [12].…”

“…The authors deal with the subject of silicon wafer texturization in the form of nano and microwires [11,12]. The surface texture for solar cells is designed to reduce the reflection of solar radiation from the front surface of the silicon wafer.…”

“…To the authors' knowledge, this is the first proposal and attempt to implement etched silicon wires into the structure of a silicon/perovskite tandem cell. The first attempts to cover silicon wires with perovskite have already been published [12] but this article presents the results of research on covering silicon wires with an ITO recombination layer and an assessment of its homogeneity in terms of the applied deposition technique.…”

Graded-Index Active Layer for Efficiency Enhancement in Polymer Solar Cell

“…In recent years, the common advantages of all-polymer solar cells all-(PSCs), such as their lighter weight, flexibility, and the low-cost printing of for fabrication, have attracted significant interest [1][2][3]. At the same time, some methods have appeared that contribute to circumventing the challenges that have impeded improvements to the efficiency of solar cells that depend on semiconductors and methods for converting natural resources into electrical energy [4][5][6]. A layered PSC structure consists of at least a transparent front electrode, an active layer-which is the real semiconducting polymer material-and a back electrode fabricated on a plastic substrate.…”

Perovskite Tandem Solar Cell Technologies

“…In Ref. [2], entitled "Interlayer Microstructure Analysis of the Transition Zone in the Silicon/Perovskite Tandem Solar Cell", Kulesza-Matlak et al developed a porous layer of Si wires on the bottom silicon cell by using metal-assisted etching, which fulfilled a double role of the silicon solar cell texturing and the scaffolding for the perovskite absorber. The wires etched on polished or typically textured silicon significantly reduced the reflectance of solar radiation in the wavelength range of 300-1000 nm and therefore are beneficial to increasing the efficiency.…”