Light Management: A Key Concept in High-Efficiency Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Photovoltaics

• Published in: The journal of physical chemistry letters Vol. 10; no. 11; pp. 3159 - 3170
• Main Authors: Jacobs, Daniel A, Langenhorst, Malte, Sahli, Florent, Richards, Bryce S, White, Thomas P, Ballif, Christophe, Catchpole, Kylie R, Paetzold, Ulrich W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 06.06.2019
• ISSN: 1948-7185; 1948-7185
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b03721

The remarkable recent progress in perovskite photovoltaics affords a novel opportunity to advance the power conversion efficiency of market-dominating crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells. A severe limiting factor in the development of perovskite/c-Si tandems to date has been their inferior light-harvesting ability compared to single-junction c-Si solar cells, but recent innovations have made impressive headway on this front. Here, we provide a quantitative perspective on future steps to advance perovskite/c-Si tandem photovoltaics from a light-management point of view, addressing key challenges and available strategies relevant to both the 2-terminal and 4-terminal perovskite/c-Si tandem architectures. In particular, we discuss the challenge of achieving low optical reflection in 2-terminal cells, optical shortcomings in state-of-the-art devices, the impact of transparent electrode performance, and a variety of factors which influence the optimal bandgap for perovskite top-cells. Focused attention in each of these areas will be required to make the most of the tandem opportunity.