Ultrathin microcrystalline hydrogenated Si/Ge alloyed tandem solar cells towards full solar spectrum conversion

Yu Cao; Xinyun Zhu; Xingyu Tong; Jing Zhou; Jian Ni; Jianjun Zhang; Jinbo Pang

doi:10.1007/s11705-019-1906-0

Comparing optical performance of a wide range of perovskite/silicon tandem architectures under real-world conditions

Nanophotonics ◽

10.1515/nanoph-2020-0643 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Manvika Singh ◽

Rudi Santbergen ◽

Indra Syifai ◽

Arthur Weeber ◽

Miro Zeman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Real World ◽

Solar Spectrum ◽

Photocurrent Density ◽

Angle Of Incidence ◽

Optical Study ◽

Optical Performance ◽

Tandem Solar Cells ◽

Bottom Cell ◽

Wide Range

Abstract Since single junction c-Si solar cells are reaching their practical efficiency limit. Perovskite/c-Si tandem solar cells hold the promise of achieving greater than 30% efficiencies. In this regard, optical simulations can deliver guidelines for reducing the parasitic absorption losses and increasing the photocurrent density of the tandem solar cells. In this work, an optical study of 2, 3 and 4 terminal perovskite/c-Si tandem solar cells with c-Si solar bottom cells passivated by high thermal-budget poly-Si, poly-SiOx and poly-SiCx is performed to evaluate their optical performance with respect to the conventional tandem solar cells employing silicon heterojunction bottom cells. The parasitic absorption in these carrier selective passivating contacts has been quantified. It is shown that they enable greater than 20 mA/cm2 matched implied photocurrent density in un-encapsulated 2T tandem architecture along with being compatible with high temperature production processes. For studying the performance of such tandem devices in real-world irradiance conditions and for different locations of the world, the effect of solar spectrum and angle of incidence on their optical performance is studied. Passing from mono-facial to bi-facial tandem solar cells, the photocurrent density in the bottom cell can be increased, requiring again optical optimization. Here, we analyse the effect of albedo, perovskite thickness and band gap as well as geographical location on the optical performance of these bi-facial perovskite/c-Si tandem solar cells. Our optical study shows that bi-facial 2T tandems, that also convert light incident from the rear, require radically thicker perovskite layers to match the additional current from the c-Si bottom cell. For typical perovskite bandgap and albedo values, even doubling the perovskite thickness is not sufficient. In this respect, lower bandgap perovskites are very interesting for application not only in bi-facial 2T tandems but also in related 3T and 4T tandems.

Download Full-text

Maximizing tandem solar cell power extraction using a three-terminal design

Sustainable Energy & Fuels ◽

10.1039/c8se00133b ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (6) ◽

pp. 1141-1147 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Emily L. Warren ◽

Michael G. Deceglie ◽

Michael Rienäcker ◽

Robby Peibst ◽

Adele C. Tamboli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Solar Cell ◽

Solar Spectrum ◽

Operating Mechanism ◽

Tandem Solar Cell ◽

Tandem Solar Cells ◽

Power Extraction ◽

Terminal Design ◽

Metal Interconnects

Three-terminal tandem solar cells can provide a robust operating mechanism to efficiently capture the solar spectrum without the need to current match sub-cells or fabricate complicated metal interconnects.

Download Full-text

Increased Spectrum Utilization with GaAsP/SiGe Solar Cells Grown on Silicon Substrates

MRS Advances ◽

10.1557/adv.2016.354 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 1 (43) ◽

pp. 2901-2906

Author(s):

Anastasia H. Soeriyadi ◽

Brianna Conrad ◽

Xin Zhao ◽

Dun Li ◽

Li Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Low Cost ◽

Solar Spectrum ◽

Energy Conversion Efficiency ◽

Open Circuit ◽

Commercial Application ◽

Material Structure ◽

Threading Dislocation ◽

Spectrum Utilization ◽

Tandem Solar Cells

ABSTRACTWorld-record solar-to-electricity energy conversion efficiency has been previously achieved by photovoltaic devices that maximize the use of the solar spectrum, such as multi-junction tandem solar cells. These cells are made of III-V materials whose high cost is a strong limitation on their widespread commercial application. One solution to suppress the cost of these types of devices is to grow III-V solar cells on low-cost carrier materials such as silicon. We will discuss the material, structure and analysis of GaAsP/SiGe-on-silicon multi-junction tandem solar cells. A low threading dislocation density is realized by effective lattice-matching of the top and bottom cells which demonstrate a device that achieves high open-circuit voltage in the top solar cell. The GaAsP/SiGe solar cells have reached a measured efficiency of 20.6% under one sun concentration. Analysis of these results based on the product of the best parameters shows efficiency potential of 26% under one sun, 30.8% at 20× and 35.1% at 400×.

Download Full-text

Silicon heterojunction-based tandem solar cells: past, status, and future prospects

Nanophotonics ◽

10.1515/nanoph-2021-0034 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Xingliang Li ◽

Qiaojing Xu ◽

Lingling Yan ◽

Chengchao Ren ◽

Biao Shi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Power Conversion ◽

Solar Spectrum ◽

Back Contact ◽

Optical Performance ◽

Future Prospects ◽

High Power Conversion Efficiency ◽

Comprehensive Overview ◽

Tandem Solar Cells ◽

Different Parts

Abstract Due to stable and high power conversion efficiency (PCE), it is expected that silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells will dominate the photovoltaic market. So far, the highest PCE of the SHJ-interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar cells has reached 26.7%, approximately approaching the theoretical Shockley–Queisser (SQ) limitation of 29.4%. To break through this limit, multijunction devices consisting of two or three stacked subcells have been developed, which can fully utilize the sunlight by absorbing different parts of the solar spectrum. This article provides a comprehensive overview of current research on SHJ-based tandem solar cells (SHJ-TSCs), including perovskite/SHJ TSCs and III–V/SHJ TSCs. Firstly, we give a brief introduction to the structures of SHJ-TSCs, followed by a discussion of fabrication processes. Afterwards, we focus on various materials and processes that have been explored to optimize the electrical and optical performance. Finally, we highlight the opportunities and challenges of SHJ-TSCs, as well as personal perspectives on the future development directions in this field.

Download Full-text

Comprehensive device simulation of 23.36% efficient two-terminal perovskite-PbS CQD tandem solar cell for low-cost applications

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-99098-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jaya Madan ◽

Karanveer Singh ◽

Rahul Pandey

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Solar Cell ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Transmission Loss ◽

Defect Density ◽

Low Cost ◽

Solar Spectrum ◽

Tandem Solar Cell ◽

Tandem Solar Cells ◽

Bottom Cell

AbstractThe major losses that limit the efficiency of a single-junction solar cell are thermalization loss and transmission loss. Thus, to efficiently utilize the full solar spectrum and to mitigate these losses, tandem solar cells (TSC) have significantly impacted the photovoltaic (PV) landscape. In this context, the research on perovskite/silicon tandems is currently dominating the research community. The stability improvements of perovskite materials and mature fabrication techniques of silicon have underpinned the rapid progress of perovskite/silicon TSC. However, the low absorption coefficient and high module cost of the silicon are the tailbacks for the mass production of perovskite/silicon TSCs. Therefore, PV technology demands to explore some new materials other than Si to be used as absorber layer in the bottom cell. Thus, here in this work, to mitigate the aforementioned losses and to reduce cost, a 23.36% efficient two-terminal perovskite-PbS CQD monolithic tandem solar cell has been designed through comprehensive device simulations. Before analyzing the performance of the proposed TSC, the performance of perovskite top cells has been optimized in terms of variation in optical properties, thickness, and interface defect density under standalone conditions. Thereafter, filtered spectrum and associated integrated filtered power by the top cell at different perovskite thickness from 50 to 500 nm is obtained to conceive the presence of the top cell above the bottom cell with different perovskite thickness. The current matching by concurrently varying the thickness of both the top and bottom subcell has also been done to obtain the maximum deliverable tandem JSC for the device under consideration. The top/bottom subcell with current matched JSC of 16.68 mA cm−2/16.62 mA cm−2 showed the conversion efficiency of 14.60%/9.07% under tandem configuration with an optimized thickness of 143 nm/470 nm, where the top cell is simulated under AM1.5G spectrum, and bottom cell is exposed to the spectrum filtered by 143 nm thick top cell. Further, the voltages at equal current points are added together to generate tandem J–V characteristics. This work concludes a 23.36% efficient perovskite-PbS CQD tandem design with 1.79 V (VOC), 16.67 mA cm−2 (JSC) and 78.3% (FF). The perovskite-PbS CQD tandem device proposed in this work may pave the way for the development of high-efficiency tandem solar cells for low-cost applications.

Download Full-text

Hybrid inorganic–organic tandem solar cells for broad absorption of the solar spectrum

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics ◽

10.1039/c4cp00846d ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 16 (17) ◽

pp. 7672-7676 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

M. J. Speirs ◽

B. G. H. M. Groeneveld ◽

L. Protesescu ◽

C. Piliego ◽

M. V. Kovalenko ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Solar Cell ◽

Solar Spectrum ◽

Tandem Solar Cell ◽

Broad Absorption ◽

Tandem Solar Cells ◽

Spectral Coverage

A tandem solar cell is fabricated with one PbS QD and one polymer–fullerene subcell for a broad spectral coverage. Tungsten(vi) oxide is demonstrated as an effective interlayer.

Download Full-text