High‐Performance Semitransparent Tandem Solar Cell of 8.02% Conversion Efficiency with Solution‐Processed Graphene Mesh and Laminated Ag Nanowire Top Electrodes

Abstract

A high-performance semitransparent tandem solar cell that uses solutionprocessed graphene mesh and laminated Ag NW as a transparent anode and cathode, respectively, is demonstrated. The laminated top electrode can be deposited without causing any damage to the underneath organic solar cells. Power conversion effi ciencies of 8.02% and 6.47% are obtained when the light is projected from the solution-processed graphene mesh and laminated AgNW, respectively. The performance of the tandem cell is found to be comparable to a tandem solar cell fabricated using commercially available indium tin oxide. These fi ndings offer a high-performance device and open a new pathway in searching for a potential replacement to the frequently used transparent conducting electrodes.

Semi-transparent polymer solar cells

“…Recently, an efficiency of 8.02% in a tandem OPV cell with a semi-transparency of 44.90% was achieved using solution-processed graphene as the front electrode and laminated nanowires as the top electrode. 71 In all such tandem devices, the NIR energy was more completely harnessed while approximately half of the visible photons were transmitted.…”

“…More recently, a PCPDTFBT polymer with a similar spectral response, i.e., a major absorption located at the near infrared region, was used to fabricate semi-transparent OPV cells with a PCE above 5%. 93 In the fabricated devices, PCPDTFBT∶PC 71 BM was used as active BHJ layer, with a configuration of ITO∕ZnO∕PCPDTFBT∶PC 71 BM∕PEDOT∶PSS∕ultra-thin Ag. With a 15 nm Ag as the semitransparent top electrode, the device exhibited an average transmission of 39.4% while for device with a thinner Ag layer of 10 nm the average transmission was increased to 47.3% without significantly compromising its PCE.…”

“…AgNW was used as the material in the semi-transparent electrodes on both sides of the OPV cell 77,96 and, more recently, other alternatives to high vacuum processed transparent electrodes such as highly doped PEDOT, 73 PEDOT:PSS:CNTs, 67 graphene, 71 have been implemented in OPV cells. In general, the fully solution-processed cells have been shown to perform similarly to equivalent cells fabricated using a sputtered ITO electrode.…”

“…This electrode must be deposited when the absorber layer has already been deposited on the substrate and a nonaggressive deposition procedure needs to be used. Several different options have been considered, such as low-temperature annealed indium tin oxide (ITO), [42][43][44][45][46][47][48] a three-layer architecture combining a dielectric layer, an ultra thin metal layer, and a second dielectric layer, [49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64] PEDOT, [65][66][67] silver grid, 68 graphene, [69][70][71] carbon nanotubes, 67,72 and silver nanowires (AgNW). [73][74][75][76][77][78] However, the need for a nondestructive deposition technique for the top semi-transparent electrode is probably not the major issue that semi-transparent OPV cells must overcome before becoming an industrially viable solution.…”

Organic and perovskite solar modules innovated by adhesive top electrode and depth-resolved laser patterning

“…More recently, alternative materials and lamination techniques to produce single or tandem organic and perovskite solar cells were presented. [33][34][35][36] While previous results are indicative of the future potential of lamination technology, at present the implementation of this technology as an efficient method for producing up-scalable electrodes and devices hinges on several hurdles. First, thick electrode materials (micron range) that efficiently extract charge carriers upon being coated using simplified solution-based methods are not easily accessible.…”