Maximizing the short circuit current of organic solar cells by partial decoupling of electrical and optical properties

Abstract

The partial decoupling of electronic and optical properties of organic solar cells allows for realizing solar cells with increased short circuit current and energy conversion efficiency. The proposed device consists of an organic solar cell conformally prepared on the surface of an array of single and double textured pyramids. The device geometry allows for increasing the optical thickness of the organic solar cell, while the electrical thickness is equal to the nominal thickness of the solar cell. By increasing the optical thickness of the solar cell, the short circuit current is distinctly increased. The quantum efficiency and short circuit current are determined using finite-difference time-domain simulations of the 3D solar cell structure. The influence of different solar cell designs on the quantum efficiency and short circuit current is discussed and optimal device dimensions are proposed.

A Simple Approach for Unraveling Optoelectronic Processes in Organic Solar Cells under Short‐Circuit Conditions

“…This progress in the field of OPVs is intricately linked to the correct assessment of material and device parameters and to efforts towards deconvoluting the electronic processes and the contributions of different loss mechanisms. [ 10,11 ]…”

“…This progress in the field of OPVs is intricately linked to the correct assessment of material and device para meters and to efforts towards deconvoluting the electronic processes and the contributions of different loss mechanisms. [10,11] Under short-circuit conditions, the interplay of exciton photogeneration in the active layer, geminate and non-geminate recombination processes, and free charge carrier extraction define the measured electron flux (photocurrent). [12][13][14][15][16] The complexity of the photoelectronic processes complicates the analysis, and advanced techniques are frequently applied to characterize a single aspect.…”

Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells: From Detailed Balance Limit Calculations to Photon Management

“…The optics of the solar cell can be improved by enhanced light incoupling and minimizing optical losses. The largest gains can be achieved by an improved light incoupling [ 75 , 76 ]. A variety of structures have been investigated that exhibit improved light incoupling.…”

Improvement of salt gradient solar ponds’ performance using nanoparticles inside the storage layer

“…It is of interest to the world due to its many benefits. There are various solar systems such as solar pond (Alcaraz et al 2016;Ziapour et al 2016;Abdullah et al 2016;Elsarrag et al 2016), solar still (Rajaseenivasan et al 2013), solar heater (Tsilingiris 1996;Mahian et al 2013), and solar collector (Said et al 2013;Milanese et al 2016;Qarony et al 2018;Karuppuchamy et al 2013;Gulzar et al 2018) for capturing and converting solar energy into other energies, namely, thermal energy or electricity, which are suitable for human uses. One of the most widely used equipment to collect and store solar energy is the solar ponds; they can be used for heating, cooling, water desalination, or electricity generation (Rajaseenivasan et al 2013;Abdullah et al 2016;Elsarrag et al 2016;Bozkurt et al 2015;Liu et al 2015;Assari et al 2015;Michael and Iniyan 2015;Salata and Coppi 2014;Tsilingiris 1996).…”