Projected efficiency of organic/inorganic hybrid tandem solar cells

Po Han Chen, Yang Yue Huang, Huai Te Pen, Yi Chun Lai, Chia Ying Tsai, Pei Ting Tsai, Kai Yuan Cheng, Wei Sheng Weng, Peichen Yu, Hsin-Fei Meng

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

We propose a series-connected hybrid tandem solar cell which consists of an organic solar cell (P3HT/PCBM) as the top cell and an organic/crystalline silicon hybrid solar cell (PEDOT:PSS/c-Si nanowires) as the bottom cell. Based on the device structure, the organic materials can be directly spun-cast onto the inorganic silicon substrate with thermally evaporated metal contacts, making solution-based processes possible for rapid and low-cost production. With a proper design, the hybrid device architecture can achieve a high open-circuit voltage and junction-matched photocurrent, offering a promising approach for next-generation high-efficiency photovoltaics. In this work, we established a device model to investigate the photovoltaic characteristics of the proposed hybrid tandem solar cells by combining the organic and hybrid silicon solar cells with a hypothetic recombination layer (RL). First, the model of single junction solar cells is fitted to the current-voltage curve of fabricated devices. Next, we investigate the properties of the RL between the sub-cells and observe strong correlations with the photovoltaic performance of tandem cells. In our preliminary model, we have realized a cell with an open-circuit voltage (Voc), short-circuit current (Jsc), fill-factor (FF) and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.093 V, 9.715 mA/cm2, 43.725 % and 4.644 %, respectively. We will further tailor the properties of the RL, the active-layer thickness of sub-cells, as well as the band alignment, in order to achieve practical device designs. Currently, the characteristics of real hybrid tandem solar cells remain significantly lower than the simulation result. The reason of such limited cell performance is the poor interfacial contact, which makes it difficult to provide efficient recombination and transport for electrons and holes generated from sub-cells. A number of challenging issues, including interface physics and device design will be discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication39th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2013
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages2698-2700
Number of pages3
ISBN (Print)9781479932993
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013
Event39th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2013 - Tampa, FL, United States
Duration: 16 Jun 201321 Jun 2013

Publication series

NameConference Record of the IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference
ISSN (Print)0160-8371

Conference

Conference39th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2013
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityTampa, FL
Period16/06/1321/06/13

Keywords

  • Hybrid solar cell
  • Organic solar cell
  • Simulation of solar cell
  • Tandem solar cell

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