Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2026
08:29
Morphology Control for Fully Printable Organic–Inorganic Bulk-heterojunction Solar Cells Based on a Ti-alkoxide and Semiconducting Polymer
Published on: January 10, 2017
Solution processed polymer tandem solar cell using efficient small and wide bandgap polymer:fullerene blends
Veronique S Gevaerts1, Alice Furlan, Martijn M Wienk
1Molecular Materials and Nanosystems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|March 23, 2012
Summary
Solution processed polymer tandem solar cells achieve 7% efficiency by combining wide and small bandgap layers. This tandem configuration boosts performance by reducing energy losses compared to single junction cells.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Photovoltaics
- Organic Electronics
Background:
- Single-junction solar cells face inherent efficiency limitations due to spectral mismatch and thermalization losses.
- Polymer solar cells offer tunable bandgaps, making them promising candidates for tandem applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate solution-processed polymer tandem solar cells.
- To investigate the performance enhancement offered by a tandem configuration compared to single-junction devices.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of tandem solar cells using wide and small bandgap polymer absorber layers in a series configuration.
- Performance characterization including power conversion efficiency (PCE) measurements.
Main Results:
- Achieved a power conversion efficiency of 7% for the polymer tandem solar cells.
- Demonstrated a 20% increase in efficiency compared to the best single-junction cells using individual active layers.
- Confirmed reduction in transmission and thermalization losses.
Conclusions:
- Solution-processed polymer tandem solar cells are a viable approach to surpass single-junction limitations.
- The tandem configuration effectively minimizes energy losses, leading to higher overall solar energy conversion.
- Further development of polymer tandem solar cells holds significant potential for efficient and cost-effective photovoltaics.
