Optical enhancement of a printed organic tandem solar cell using diffractive nanostructures

Mayer, Jan; Offermans, Ton; Chrapa, Marek; Pfannmöller, Martin; Bals, Sara; Ferrini, R.; Nisato, Giovanni

doi:10.1364/oe.26.00a240

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Interestingly, the DMD tandem had a performance close to the ITO‐based counterpart, thanks to the TeO 2 capping layer, which reduced the reflection at the thin silver layer, the first one encountered by light. Another way to enhance the absorption of the active layers was reported by Mayer et al Here, a templated periodical structure was applied externally on the glass side of an ITO‐based tandem solar cell. The structure reported was made with a UV‐curable polymer on a glass substrate and a master template fabricated with laser interference lithography.…”

Section: Tandem Solar Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in Solution‐Processed Multijunction Organic Solar Cells

2018

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Single-junction solar cells are principally limited in performance by two factors (Figure 1a). Electrons excited by photons with energy higher than the bandgap relax to the band edges, releasing surplus energy as heat (thermalization loss). Photons with energy lower than the bandgap are not absorbed (transmission loss). These losses can be alleviated with two or more absorber layers. The first layer should feature a wide bandgap material to reduce the thermalization loss for high-energy photons. The second layer should have a lower bandgap to absorb the low-energy photons that pass the first layer. In such configuration a tandem cell provides less thermalization and less transmission losses than each of the corresponding single-junction cells. In the detailed-balance limit, a double-junction (tandem) cell can reach an efficiency of 42% and a triple-junction cell 49%. [6] To construct a tandem cell, the two complementary absorber layers must be stacked optically and electrically ( Figure 1b). The interconnecting layer (ICL) between the two subcells must pass light and sustain the photocurrent by providing an optically transparent electrical contact for recombination of electrons and holes from the adjacent photoactive layers. The Fermi level of the hole-transporting layer (HTL) and the electron-transporting layer (ETL) that jointly form the ICL must match the relevant highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels in the adjacent photoactive layers (Figure 1b). The ICL should not cause voltage losses and have low resistance. The open-circuit voltage (V OC ) of the tandem solar cell is ideally the sum of the V OC s of the subcells and the photocurrent is limited by the subcell generating less current. To overcome the intrinsic performance limits of single-junction cells, the subcells should absorb complementary regions of the solar spectrum and generate equal photocurrent.In the first organic tandem solar cells, materials were thermally evaporated. Initially only metal clusters were used to interconnect the subcells, [7][8][9] later complemented by p-and n-doped organic transport layers. [10,11] In 2007, the first fully solution-processed tandem polymer solar cells were reported by Gilot et al. [12] and Kim et al. [13] In both examples the ICL featured a layer of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) as HTL, stacked on top of either a zinc oxide or a titanium oxide layer as ETL. Kim et al. achieved a PCE of 6.5%. Since then PCEs have steadily increased. Major improvements involved the use of more efficient photoactive blends that afford a high V OC relative to their optical bandgap The efficiency of organic solar cells can benefit from multijunction device architectures, in which energy losses are substantially reduced. Herein, recent developments in the field of solution-processed multijunction organic solar cells are described. Recently, various strategies have been investigated and implemented to improve the performance of these device...

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Section: Tandem Solar Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in Solution‐Processed Multijunction Organic Solar Cells

2018

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“…186,200 This has also been done with extremely thin film polymer substrates. 200 Microstructured light couplers may also be formed as external elements, [201][202][203][204] in the form of periodic textures, diffraction gratings or aperiodic diffractive elements. 205,206 Colloidal photonic crystals have been used for large area printed OPV modules.…”

Section: Meso-and Microscopic Geometry Design For Light Incouplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Status report on emerging photovoltaics

Anctil,

Beattie,

Case

et al. 2023

J. Photon. Energy

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This report provides a snapshot of emerging photovoltaic (PV) technologies. It consists of concise contributions from experts in a wide range of fields including silicon, thin film, III-V, perovskite, organic, and dye-sensitized PVs. Strategies for exceeding the detailed balance limit and for light managing are presented, followed by a section detailing key applications and commercialization pathways. A section on sustainability then discusses the need for minimization of the environmental footprint in PV manufacturing and recycling. The report concludes with a perspective based on broad survey questions presented to the contributing authors regarding the needs and future evolution of PV.

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“…To overcome or minimize this problem, Mayer et al fabricated homo‐OTSCs from non‐halogenated solvents by doctor blading. [ 100 ] Their optimal technique included a periodical template structure, which was applied externally on the glass side of an ITO‐based tandem solar cell. Large‐area periodic templates can enhance a selected absorption region.…”

Section: Light Management Of Otscsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Developments in Organic Tandem Solar Cells toward High Efficiency

Ullah

Chen

Choy

2021

Adv Energy and Sustain Res

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The demands of sustainable energy sources and depletion of conventional energy sources have accelerated the quest for attaining nontoxic and low‐cost organic solar cells (OSCs). The intrinsic characteristics of organic semiconductor materials such as light weight, mechanical stability, tailorable bandgaps, and ease of solution processability on a large area with flexible devices provide new dimensions to the device engineers toward sustainable electronic technologies. The past two decades have witnessed an inspiring breakthrough of device efficiency by developing multijunction architectures. The significance of organic tandem solar cells (OTSCs) does not only elevate the efficiencies but also considerably reduces the absorption losses. Herein, the recent developments in OTSCs, starting from designing rules for OTSCs, followed by implementation of the interconnecting layer (ICL) structure, and issues regarding processing, light management, and engaging photoactive materials for constructing OTSCs, are comprehensively described. Finally, the conclusion and outlook for OTSCs are provided.

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Optical enhancement of a printed organic tandem solar cell using diffractive nanostructures

Cited by 9 publications

References 40 publications

Advances in Solution‐Processed Multijunction Organic Solar Cells

Advances in Solution‐Processed Multijunction Organic Solar Cells

Status report on emerging photovoltaics

Recent Developments in Organic Tandem Solar Cells toward High Efficiency

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