Perovskite/Perovskite/Silicon Monolithic Triple-Junction Solar Cells with a Fully Textured Design

Abstract

High efficiency triple-junction solar cells are currently made of III–V semiconductors using expensive deposition methods. Perovskite/perovskite/silicon monolithic triple-junction solar cells could be a lower-cost alternative as no epitaxial growth is required. We demonstrate here that such devices can be realized using textured crystalline silicon bottom cells for optimal light management. By changing the perovskite absorbers composition and recombination junctions to make them compatible with the subsequent fabrication steps, triple-junction devices with open-circuit voltage up to 2.69 V are realized. To illustrate the applicability of the technology, we show how the band gaps and thicknesses of the top and middle cells can be modified to approach current-matching conditions. The limitations of these devices are discussed, as well as strategies to make them competitive with III–V triple-junction cells. The concepts presented here are a first step toward high-efficiency, high-voltage, and low-cost triple-junction photovoltaics.

A Review of Diverse Halide Perovskite Morphologies for Efficient Optoelectronic Applications

“…f) Cross‐sectional SEM image of the silicon/perovskite/perovskite triple‐junction solar cells. g) EQE spectra of the optimized cell (panel a) and nonoptimized cell (panel b), composed of the top, middle, and bottom triple‐junctions Reproduced with permission . Copyright 2018, American Chemical Society.…”

“…The textured silicon wafer provided the micrometer‐sized pyramids to support the anchoring of perovskite layers, which simultaneously enhanced the light trapping and minimized the reflection loss. As a result, the triple‐junction solar cell is able to achieve V oc up to 2.7 V and an optimized accumulative current of 38.8 mA cm −2 , thus greatly contributing to the improved device performance with PCE up to 14% (Figure g) …”

Low‐Bandgap Mixed Tin‐Lead Perovskites and Their Applications in All‐Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells

“…On the other hand, tandem solar cells based on organic/polymer or inorganic thin films, which can be potentially fabricated at low‐costs, have also been reported, but their PCEs are still much inferior to the III‐V based tandem cells. Metal halide perovskites possess excellent photovoltaic properties, bandgap tunability, low‐temperature and low‐cost solution processability, which make them an ideal candidate for fabricating all‐perovskite multijunction tandem solar cells with the predicted maximum PCE of over 40% . Particularly, for the all‐perovskite tandem solar cells, because both wide‐ and low‐bandgap perovskite subcells hold the promise for high efficiency and low costs, they are predicted to be the leader in the energy and environmental costs …”

2D/3D Heterostructure for Semitransparent Perovskite Solar Cells with Engineered Bandgap Enables Efficiencies Exceeding 25% in Four‐Terminal Tandems with Silicon and CIGS

“…[ 10,19,21,22 ] In addition, conformal coating of the various thin‐films in the device stack of PSCs with thickness < 1 µm on top of commercially available textured c‐Si or rough CIGS substrates is required, which poses a major challenge for fabrication. [ 17,23–27 ] In contrast, in the 4T configuration each subcell can be operated independently at its maximum power point (MPP), which allows process simplicity and reduces the constraints on top cell bandgap and thickness. When combined with c‐Si bottom cells, high tandem PCEs are generally achievable with a broad range of perovskite bandgaps around (1.8 ± 0.2) eV.…”