10.5% efficient polymer and amorphous silicon hybrid tandem photovoltaic cell.
Thin-film solar cells made with amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) or organic semiconductors are considered as promising renewable energy sources due to their low manufacturing cost and light weight. However, the efficiency of single-junction a-Si:H or organic solar cells is typically <10%, insufficient for achieving grid parity. Here we demonstrate an efficient double-junction photovoltaic cell by employing an a-Si:H film as a front sub-cell and a low band gap polymer:fullerene blend film as a back cell on planar glass substrates. Monolithic integration of 6.0% efficienct a-Si:H and 7.5% efficient polymer:fullerene blend solar cells results in a power conversion efficiency of 10.5%. Such high-efficiency thin-film tandem cells can be achieved by optical management and interface engineering of fully optimized high-performance front and back cells without sacrificing photovoltaic performance in both cells.
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, 1101 Kitchawan Road, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598, USA.
Jeehwan
J
Kim
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
Ziruo
Z
Hong
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
Gang
0000000183997771
G
Li
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
Tze-bin
TB
Song
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, 1101 Kitchawan Road, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598, USA.
Jay
J
Chey
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, 1101 Kitchawan Road, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598, USA.
Yun Seog
YS
Lee
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
Jingbi
J
You
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
Chun-Chao
CC
Chen
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, 1101 Kitchawan Road, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598, USA.
Devendra K
DK
Sadana
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
Yang
Y
Yang