skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Optical modeling of wide-bandgap perovskite and perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells using complex refractive indices for arbitrary-bandgap perovskite absorbers

Journal Article · · Optics Express
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.26.027441· OSTI ID:1476376
; ; ; ; ORCiD logo; ; ; ;

Wide-bandgap perovskites are attractive top-cell materials for tandem photovoltaic applications. Comprehensive optical modeling is essential to minimize the optical losses of state-of-the-art perovskite/perovskite, perovskite/CIGS, and perovskite/silicon tandems. Such models require accurate optical constants of wide-bandgap perovskites. Here, we report optical constants determined with ellipsometry and spectrophotometry for two new wide-bandgap, cesium-formamidinium-based perovskites. We validate the optical constants by comparing simulated quantum efficiency and reflectance spectra with measured cell results for semi-transparent single-junction perovskite cells and find less than 0.3 mA/cm2 error in the short-circuit current densities. Such simulations further reveal that reflection and parasitic absorption in the front ITO layer and electron contact are responsible for the biggest optical losses. We also show that the complex refractive index of methylammonium lead triiodide, the most common perovskite absorber for solar cells, can be used to generate approximate optical constants for an arbitrary wide-bandgap perovskite by translating the data along the wavelength axis. Finally, these optical constants are used to map the short-circuit current density of a textured two-terminal perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell as a function of the perovskite thickness and bandgap, providing a guide to nearly 20 mA/cm2 matched current density with any perovskite bandgap between 1.56 and 1.68 eV.

Research Organization:
Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
EE0008154; EE0004946; EE0008167
OSTI ID:
1476376
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1483392; OSTI ID: 1693696
Journal Information:
Optics Express, Journal Name: Optics Express Vol. 26 Journal Issue: 21; ISSN 1094-4087
Publisher:
Optical Society of America (OSA)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 67 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (44)

Rotating-compensator multichannel ellipsometry: Applications for real time Stokes vector spectroscopy of thin film growth journal April 1998
A Universal Deposition Protocol for Planar Heterojunction Solar Cells with High Efficiency Based on Hybrid Lead Halide Perovskite Families journal October 2016
Low-temperature solution-processed wavelength-tunable perovskites for lasing journal March 2014
In Situ Fabrication of Halide Perovskite Nanocrystal-Embedded Polymer Composite Films with Enhanced Photoluminescence for Display Backlights journal August 2016
High Photoluminescence Efficiency and Optically Pumped Lasing in Solution-Processed Mixed Halide Perovskite Semiconductors journal March 2014
Reflection of normally incident light from silicon solar cells with pyramidal texture journal October 2010
Temperature dependence of the band-band absorption coefficient in crystalline silicon from photoluminescence journal January 2014
Complex Refractive Indices of Cesium–Formamidinium-Based Mixed-Halide Perovskites with Optical Band Gaps from 1.5 to 1.8 eV journal February 2018
23.6%-efficient monolithic perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells with improved stability journal February 2017
Efficient perovskite light-emitting diodes featuring nanometre-sized crystallites journal January 2017
Optical properties and limiting photocurrent of thin-film perovskite solar cells journal January 2015
Numerical optical optimization of monolithic planar perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells with regular and inverted device architectures journal January 2017
Thermal and Environmental Stability of Semi-Transparent Perovskite Solar Cells for Tandems Enabled by a Solution-Processed Nanoparticle Buffer Layer and Sputtered ITO Electrode journal February 2016
The Potential of Multijunction Perovskite Solar Cells journal October 2017
Rubidium Multication Perovskite with Optimized Bandgap for Perovskite-Silicon Tandem with over 26% Efficiency journal April 2017
Monolithic Perovskite-CIGS Tandem Solar Cells via In Situ Band Gap Engineering journal September 2015
Realistic Silver Optical Constants for Plasmonics journal July 2016
Cesium-containing triple cation perovskite solar cells: improved stability, reproducibility and high efficiency journal January 2016
Formamidinium lead trihalide: a broadly tunable perovskite for efficient planar heterojunction solar cells journal January 2014
Complex Refractive Index Spectra of CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 Perovskite Thin Films Determined by Spectroscopic Ellipsometry and Spectrophotometry journal December 2014
Bright light-emitting diodes based on organometal halide perovskite journal August 2014
Real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry studies of the nucleation and grain growth processes in microcrystalline silicon thin films journal February 2001
Predicting and optimising the energy yield of perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cells under real world conditions journal January 2017
Optical properties of thin films journal March 1982
Berechnung verschiedener physikalischer Konstanten von heterogenen Substanzen. I. Dielektrizitätskonstanten und Leitfähigkeiten der Mischkörper aus isotropen Substanzen journal January 1935
The effect of surface roughness on the determination of optical constants of CuInSe 2 and CuGaSe 2 thin films journal June 2013
Impact of Ultrathin C 60 on Perovskite Photovoltaic Devices journal January 2018
Selecting tandem partners for silicon solar cells journal September 2016
Efficient Monolithic Perovskite/Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells journal December 2016
Improved light management in planar silicon and perovskite solar cells using PDMS scattering layer journal December 2017
Compositional Engineering for Efficient Wide Band Gap Perovskites with Improved Stability to Photoinduced Phase Segregation journal January 2018
Dismantling the “Red Wall” of Colloidal Perovskites: Highly Luminescent Formamidinium and Formamidinium–Cesium Lead Iodide Nanocrystals journal March 2017
Towards optical optimization of planar monolithic perovskite/silicon-heterojunction tandem solar cells journal May 2016
Mechanically-stacked perovskite/CIGS tandem solar cells with efficiency of 23.9% and reduced oxygen sensitivity journal January 2018
Dielectric function representation by B-splines journal April 2008
Formamidinium and Cesium Hybridization for Photo- and Moisture-Stable Perovskite Solar Cell journal September 2015
Determination of the complex refractive index and optical bandgap of CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 thin films journal May 2017
Optical Analysis of Planar Multicrystalline Perovskite Solar Cells journal July 2017
Perovskite-perovskite tandem photovoltaics with optimized band gaps journal October 2016
CH_3NH_3PbI_3 perovskite / silicon tandem solar cells: characterization based optical simulations journal January 2015
Parameterization of the optical functions of amorphous materials in the interband region journal July 1996
Nanocrystals of Cesium Lead Halide Perovskites (CsPbX 3 , X = Cl, Br, and I): Novel Optoelectronic Materials Showing Bright Emission with Wide Color Gamut journal February 2015
Determination of the optical constants of MgF_2 and ZnS from spectrophotometric measurements and the classical oscillator method journal January 1988
Optical Transitions in Hybrid Perovskite Solar Cells: Ellipsometry, Density Functional Theory, and Quantum Efficiency Analyses for CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 journal January 2016

Figures / Tables (25)

Fig. 1(p. 6)figure Fig. 1
Fig. 2(p. 7)figure Fig. 2
Fig. 3.(p. 8)figure Fig. 3.
Fig. 4(p. 9)figure Fig. 4
Fig. 5(p. 10)figure Fig. 5
Fig. 6(p. 11)figure Fig. 6
Fig. 7(p. 11)figure Fig. 7
Fig. 8(p. 12)figure Fig. 8
Fig. 10(p. 13)figure Fig. 10
Fig. 9(p. 13)figure Fig. 9
Fig. 11(p. 15)figure Fig. 11
Fig. 12(p. 15)figure Fig. 12
Fig. 13(p. 16)figure Fig. 13
Fig. 14(p. 16)figure Fig. 14
Fig. 15(p. 16)figure Fig. 15
Fig. 16(p. 17)figure Fig. 16
Fig. 17(p. 17)figure Fig. 17
Fig. 18(p. 18)figure Fig. 18
Fig. 19(p. 18)figure Fig. 19
Fig. 20(p. 19)figure Fig. 20
Fig. 21(p. 19)figure Fig. 21
Table 1(p. 19)table Table 1
Table 3(p. 20)table Table 3
Table 2(p. 20)table Table 2
Table 4(p. 20)table Table 4

Similar Records

Perovskite Solar Cells for High-Efficiency Tandems
Technical Report · Sat Sep 30 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · OSTI ID:1476376
Fabrication of efficient low-bandgap perovskite solar cells by combining formamidinium tin iodide with methylammonium lead iodide
Journal Article · Tue Sep 13 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Journal of the American Chemical Society · OSTI ID:1476376
+11 more
Rapid Development of Hybrid Perovskites and Novel Tandem Architectures
Technical Report · Thu Jan 10 00:00:00 EST 2019 · OSTI ID:1476376

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
25 ENERGY STORAGE