Scaling Physics of Thin Film Solar Cells
Paul Burn a, Ravi Nagiri a, Ardalan Armin a, Qianqian Lin a, Hellen Jin a, Paul Meredith a, Michael Hambsch b
a University of Queensland, Centre for Organic Photonics and Electronics, Australia, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia, Saint Lucia, Australia
b Technical University (TU) Dresden, Mommsenstr. 13, Dresden, 1062, Germany
International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics
Proceedings of International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV16)
Swansea, United Kingdom, 2016 June 29th - July 1st
Organizers: James Durrant, Henry Snaith and David Worsley
Invited Speaker, Paul Meredith, presentation 186
Publication date: 28th March 2016

Organic solar cells and organohalide perovskite solar cells share several common electro-optical operating principles [1]. Both families of devices operate within the thin film, low finesse cavity limit and there are also commonalities in electrodes and ancillary layer materials and structures [2]. It is therefore not surprising that organic and organohalide perovskite solar cells are subject to the same scaling physics considerations, i.e. the physical mechanisms that come into play in retaining performance and efficiency in large area devices. A simple example of such physics is the limitation in the size of ‘maximum carrier collection path length’ which is dominated by the sheet resistance of the transparent conducting electrode and shown to be ~ 1-2 cm for commonly used 15 ohm/sq indium tin oxide [3]. This phenomenon has meant that the majority of large area organic solar cells are invariably serially interconnected thin strips. In my talk I will review these scaling physics considerations and explain their basic origin in terms of electro-optics and transport phenomena in both organic and organohalide perovskite solar cells. I will explore how the limitations of scaling physics can potentially be overcome and demonstrate so-called large area ‘monolithic architectures’ which retain their fill factor and hence power conversion efficiency up to 5 cm x 5 cm. Addressing the scaling physics in next generation thin film solar cells is an essential part of endeavors to create viable modules and hence progress low cost manufacturing and ultimately commercialisation. 

 

[1] Lin et al. Nature Photonics, 9, 106-112 (2015);[2] Armin et al. ACS Photonics, 1(3), 173-181 (2014);[3] Jin et al. Advanced Energy Materials, 2(11), 1338-1342 (2012)



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