Recombination Layer Optimization for High-Efficiency Perovskite-Organic Tandem Solar Cells

Temur Maksudov^a, Mingjie He^a, Furkan H. Isikgor^a, Begimai Adilbekova^a, Mohamad Insan Nugraha^a, Zaoheng Ling^a, Wojciech Ogieglo^b, Elefterios Lidorikis^c, Thomas D. Anthopoulos^a

^aKing Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KAUST Solar Center (KSC), Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia

^bKing Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Advanced Membranes and Porous Materials Center, Division of Physical Science and Engineering, Thuwal, 23955, Saudi Arabia

^cDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, 45110, Greece

Materials for Sustainable Development Conference (MATSUS)
Proceedings of MATSUS Fall 2023 Conference (MATSUSFall23)

#AppPV - Application Targets for Next Generation Photovoltaics

Torremolinos, Spain, 2023 October 16th - 20th

Organizers: Ardalan Armin and Marina Freitag

Oral, Temur Maksudov, presentation 202
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsus.2023.202
Publication date: 18th July 2023

A tremendous increase in the efficiency of organic and perovskite solar cells has been observed over the past few years, where single-junction OPVs (organic photovoltaics) and wide bandgap PSCs (perovskite solar cells) demonstrate efficiencies of over 19% and 20%, respectively.^1–3 This has enabled the fabrication of perovskite-organic tandem solar cells where it is possible to overcome the fundamental efficiency limits of single-junction devices. However, several challenges related to the choices of recombination layers remain. Most of the perovskite-perovskite and perovskite-organic tandem solar cells in the literature utilize metallic recombination junctions consisting of an ultrathin layer of Ag or Au. However, despite their ultrathin nature, such metallic layers can significantly reduce the light transmission to the back subcell, minimizing the device's performance.⁴ Here, we report the fabrication of perovskite-organic tandem solar cells with a remarkable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 23.6% in a 2T (two-terminal) configuration, utilizing different combinations of material systems for the recombination layer. We show that using a bilayer recombination layer composed of an ultrathin Ag and a subsequently deposited PEDOT:PSS layer exhibits significant parasitic absorption and reduces the device's overall performance. Replacing the hybrid Ag/PEDOT:PSS recombination layer with an inorganic bilayer consisting of a thin indium zinc oxide (IZO) layer and conformal thin molybdenum oxide (MoO_x), leads to significant cell performance improvements with the ensuing tandem solar cells exhibiting a Voc of 2.1 V, Jsc of 14.56 mA/cm², and a FF of 77% leading to an overall PCE of 23.6%. Our work highlights the critical role of recombination layers in tandem perovskite-organic solar cells while expands the range of interlayer systems that could lead to further performance improvements.

References:

[1] Jiang, Q.; Tong, J.; Scheidt, R. A.; Wang, X.; Louks, A. E.; Xian, Y.; Tirawat, R.; Palmstrom, A. F.; Hautzinger, M. P.; Harvey, S. P.; Johnston, S.; Schelhas, L. T.; Larson, B. W.; Warren, E. L.; Beard, M. C.; Berry, J. J.; Yan, Y.; Zhu, K. Compositional Texture Engineering for Highly Stable Wide-Bandgap Perovskite Solar Cells. Science 2022, 378 (6626), 1295–1300.

[2] Zhu, L.; Zhang, M.; Xu, J.; Li, C.; Yan, J.; Zhou, G.; Zhong, W.; Hao, T.; Song, J.; Xue, X.; Zhou, Z.; Zeng, R.; Zhu, H.; Chen, C.-C.; MacKenzie, R. C. I.; Zou, Y.; Nelson, J.; Zhang, Y.; Sun, Y.; Liu, F. Single-Junction Organic Solar Cells with over 19% Efficiency Enabled by a Refined Double-Fibril Network Morphology. Nat. Mater. 2022, 21 (6), 656–663.

[3] Chen, H.; Jeong, S. Y.; Tian, J.; Zhang, Y.; Naphade, D. R.; Alsufyani, M.; Zhang, W.; Griggs, S.; Hu, H.; Barlow, S.; Woo, H. Y.; Marder, S. R.; Anthopoulos, T. D.; McCulloch, I.; Lin, Y. A 19% Efficient and Stable Organic Photovoltaic Device Enabled by a Guest Nonfullerene Acceptor with Fibril-like Morphology. Energy Environ. Sci. 2023, 16 (3), 1062–1070.

[4] Brinkmann, K. O.; Becker, T.; Zimmermann, F.; Kreusel, C.; Gahlmann, T.; Theisen, M.; Haeger, T.; Olthof, S.; Tückmantel, C.; Günster, M.; Maschwitz, T.; Göbelsmann, F.; Koch, C.; Hertel, D.; Caprioglio, P.; Peña-Camargo, F.; Perdigón-Toro, L.; Al-Ashouri, A.; Merten, L.; Hinderhofer, A.; Gomell, L.; Zhang, S.; Schreiber, F.; Albrecht, S.; Meerholz, K.; Neher, D.; Stolterfoht, M.; Riedl, T. Perovskite–Organic Tandem Solar Cells with Indium Oxide Interconnect. Nature 2022, 604 (7905), 280–286.

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