Enabling Flexible All-Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells
Multijunction all-perovskite solar cells offer a route toward efficiencies of III-V materials at low cost by combining the advantages of low thermalization loss in multijunction architectures with the beneficial properties of perovskites—namely, low processing cost, high-throughput fabrication, and compatibility with flexible substrates. However, there are two main challenges for enabling high-efficiency tandems: (1) design of a recombination layer to efficiently combine two perovskite subcells while also preventing bottom cell damage during top cell processing and (2) achieving high open-circuit voltage of the wide-gap subcell. Herein, we overcome both of these challenges. First, we demonstrate a nucleation layer consisting of an ultra-thin polymer with nucleophilic hydroxyl and amine functional groups for nucleating a conformal, low-conductivity aluminum zinc oxide layer by atomic layer deposition (ALD). This method enables ALD-grown recombination layers that reduce shunting as well as solvent degradation from solution processing on top of existing perovskite active layers. Next, we demonstrate a band-gap tuning strategy based on A-site cations of mismatched size (dimethylammonium and cesium) to enable a 1.7 eV perovskite with high, stable voltages. By combining these advances, we fabricate two-terminal all-perovskite tandem solar cells with 23.1% power conversion efficiency on rigid substrates and 21.3% on flexible plastic substrates.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); NoneNational Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office; US Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research (ONR); Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308; N00014-17-1-2212; EE0008551
- OSTI ID:
- 1661195
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1545002; OSTI ID: 1562568; OSTI ID: 1682270
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-5K00-73402; S2542435119302521; PII: S2542435119302521
- Journal Information:
- Joule, Journal Name: Joule Vol. 3 Journal Issue: 9; ISSN 2542-4351
- Publisher:
- Elsevier - Cell PressCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Similar Records
Mini-modules made with monolithically integrated all-perovskite tandems
Developing Efficient Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Devices