Theoretical modeling of the interface recombination effect on the performance of Ⅲ-Ⅴtandem solar cells

A typical GaInP/GaInAs/Ge tandem solar cell structure operating under AM0 illumination is proposed, and the current-voltage curves are calculated for different recombination velocities at both front and back-surfaces of the three subcells by using a theoretical model including optical and electrical modules.It is found that the surface recombination at the top GaInP cell is the main limitation for obtaining high efficiency tandem solar cells.

Crystallization Modulation and Holistic Passivation Enables Efficient Two‑Terminal Perovskite/CuIn(Ga)Se_(2)Tandem Solar Cells

Two-terminal(2-T)perovskite(PVK)/CuIn(Ga)Se_(2)(CIGS)tandem solar cells(TSCs)have been considered as an ideal tandem cell because of their best bandgap matching regarding to Shockley–Queisser(S–Q)limits.However,the nature of the irregular rough morphology of commercial CIGS prevents people from improving tandem device performances.In this paper,D-homoserine lactone hydrochloride is proven to improve coverage of PVK materials on irregular rough CIGS surfaces and also passivate bulk defects by modulating the growth of PVK crystals.In addition,the minority carriers near the PVK/C60 interface and the incompletely passivated trap states caused interface recombination.A surface reconstruction with 2-thiopheneethylammonium iodide and N,N-dimethylformamide assisted passivates the defect sites located at the surface and grain boundaries.Meanwhile,LiF is used to create this field effect,repelling hole carriers away from the PVK and C60 interface and thus reducing recombination.As a result,a 2-T PVK/CIGS tandem yielded a power conversion efficiency of 24.6%(0.16 cm^(2)),one of the highest results for 2-T PVK/CIGS TSCs to our knowledge.This validation underscores the potential of our methodology in achieving superior performance in PVK/CIGS tandem solar cells.

Recombination-induced voltage-dependent photocurrent collection loss in CdTe thin film solar cell

Recently, the efficiency of CdTe thin film solar cell has been improved by using new type of window layer Mg_(x)Zn_(1-x)O(MZO). However, it is hard to achieve such a high efficiency as expected. In this report a comparative study is carried out between the MZO/CdTe and CdS/CdTe solar cells to investigate the factors affecting the device performance of MZO/CdTe solar cells. The efficiency loss quantified by voltage-dependent photocurrent collection efficiency(ηC(V′)) is 3.89% for MZO/CdTe and 1.53% for CdS/CdTe solar cells. The higher efficiency loss for the MZO/CdTe solar cell is induced by more severe carrier recombination at the MZO/CdTe p-n junction interface and in CdTe bulk region than that for the CdS/CdTe solar cell. Activation energy(Ea) of the reverse saturation current of the MZO/CdTe and CdS/CdTe solar cells are found to be 1.08 e V and 1.36 e V, respectively. These values indicate that for the CdS/CdTe solar cell the carrier recombination is dominated by bulk Shockley-Read-Hall(SRH) recombination and for the MZO/CdTe solar cell the carrier recombination is dominated by the p-n junction interface recombination. It is found that the tunneling-enhanced interface recombination is also involved in carrier recombination in the MZO/CdTe solar cell. This work demonstrates the poor device performance of the MZO/CdTe solar cell is induced by more severe interface and bulk recombination than that of the CdS/CdTe solar cell.

Surface defect ordered Cu_(2)ZnSn(S,Se)_(4) solar cells with efficiency over 12% via manipulating local substitution

The environmentally friendly Cu_(2)ZnSn(S,Se)_(4)(CZTSSe) compounds are promising direct bandgap materials for application in thin film solar cells, but the spontaneous surface defects disordering would lead to large open-circuit voltage deficit(V_(oc,deficit)) and significantly limit kesterite photovoltaics performance,primarily arising from the generated more recombination centers and insufficient p to n conversion at p-n junction. Herein, we establish a surface defects ordering structure in CZTSSe system via local substitution of Cu by Ag to suppress disordered Cu_(Zn) defects and generate benign n-type Zn_(Ag) donors. Taking advantage of the decreased annealing temperature of Ag F post deposition treatment(PDT), the high concentration of Ag incorporated into surface absorber facilitates the formation of surface ordered defect environment similar to that of efficient CIGS PV. The manipulation of highly doped surface structure could effectively reduce recombination centers, increase depletion region width and enlarge the band bending near p-n junction. As a result, the Ag F-PDT device finally achieves maximum efficiency of 12.34% with enhanced V_(oc) of 0.496 V. These results offer a new solution route in surface defects and energy-level engineering, and open the way to build up high quality p-n junction for future development of kesterite technology.

Performance enhancement of ZnO nanowires/PbS quantum dot depleted bulk heterojunction solar cells with an ultrathin Al_2O_3 interlayer

Depleted bulk heterojunction （DBH） PbS quantum dot solar cells （QDSCs）, appearing with boosted short-circuit current density （Jsc）, represent the great potential of solar radiation utilization, but suffer from the problem of increased interfacial charge recombination and reduced open-circuit voltage （Voc）. Herein, we report that an insertion of ultrathin A1203 layer （ca. 1.2 A thickness） at the interface of ZnO nanowires （NWs） and PbS quantum dots （QDs） could remarkably improve the performance of DBH-QDSCs fabricated from them, i.e., an increase of Voc from 449 mV to 572 mV, J^c from 21.90 mA/cm2 to 23.98 mA/cm2, and power conversion efficiency （PCE） from 4.29% to 6.11%. Such an improvement of device performance is ascribed to the significant reduction of the interfacial charge recombination rate, as evidenced by the light intensity dependence on Jsc and Voc, the prolonged electron lifetime, the lowered trap density, and the enlarged recombination activation energy. The present research therefore provides an effective interfacial engineering means to improving the overall performance of DBH-QDSCs, which might also be effective to other types of optoelectronic devices with large interface area.

Perovskite solar cells: recent progress and strategies developed for minimizing interfacial recombination

Organometallic perovskite is a new generation photovoltaic material with exemplary properties such as high absorption co-efficient,optimal bandgap,high defect tolerance factor and long carrier diffusion length.However,suitable electrodes and charge transport materials are required to fulfill photovoltaic processes where interfaces between hole transport material/perovskite and perovskite/electron transport material are affected by phenomena of charge carrier separation,transportation,collection by the interfaces and band alignment.Based on recent available literature and several strategies for minimizing the recombination of charge carriers at the interfaces,this review addresses the properties of hole transport materials,relevant working mechanisms,and the interface engineering of perovskite solar cell(PSC)device architecture,which also provides significant insights to design and development of PSC devices with high efficiency.