Novel Polymer-Based Organic/c-Si Monolithic Tandem Solar Cell: Enhanced Efficiency using Interlayer and Transparent...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Renewable Energy
• Photovoltaics

Background:

• Single-junction solar cells face theoretical efficiency limitations.
• Tandem solar cells offer a route to higher efficiencies by combining different photoactive materials.
• Organic and silicon photovoltaics are key materials in solar energy research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the first monolithic organic/silicon tandem solar cell.
• To analyze the performance of four-terminal (4-T) and two-terminal (2-T) configurations.
• To demonstrate the potential for enhanced solar cell efficiency.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a monolithic tandem solar cell using a semitransparent polymer on a crystalline silicon (c-Si) substrate.
• Integration of an inverted n-i-p organic cell with an n-type TOPCon c-Si cell.
• Experimental testing of both 4-T and 2-T tandem cell configurations.

Main Results:

• Achieved a 15.22% power conversion efficiency for the best 4-T organic/c-Si tandem cell.
• Demonstrated an open-circuit voltage over 1.4 V for the electrically connected top (organic) and bottom (c-Si) cells in the 2-T configuration.
• Simulated efficiency exceeding 20% for the organic/c-Si tandem structure.

Conclusions:

• The monolithic organic/c-Si tandem solar cell is a promising technology for exceeding single-junction efficiency.
• Further improvements in electrical and optical characteristics can significantly enhance tandem cell efficiency.
• This work paves the way for next-generation high-efficiency solar cells.