Performance optimization of tandem organic solar cells at varying incident angles based on optical analysis method

Abstract

Tandem organic solar cells (OSCs) show great potential due to advantages such as the utilization of wide-spectrum light and low thermalization loss. The current mismatch between sub-cells is one of the major issues reducing the final output efficiency of a tandem device. In this paper, we focus on the current mismatch of tandem OSCs at oblique incidence and aim to reduce its adverse effect on the performances of realistic devices working at varying incident angle. Firstly, we propose an optical analysis method based on the 4×4 matrix formalism to analyze and optimize the performance of tandem solar cells at arbitrary incident angles. Compared with those optimal designs via matching the currents of sub-cells only at normal incidence, the proposed method chooses the optimal structure of the tandem device by maximizing the generated energy density per day with considering the current match at different incident angles during daytime. With the proposed method, a typical tandem organic solar cell is optimized as an example, and the optimized tandem device has a balanced current match at all incident angles during a whole day. Experimental results demonstrate that the generated energy density per day of the optimized tandem device has increased by 4.9% compared to the conventional device optimized only at normal incidence. The proposed method and results are expected to provide some new insights for the performance analysis and optimization of tandem or multi-junction solar cells, especially those devices exhibiting serious current mismatch between sub-cells at varying incident angles in practical applications.

Feature issue introduction: Optical Devices and Materials for Solar Energy and Solid-state Lighting (PVLED) 2019

“…They design a diffractive array of aluminum nanopillars to concentrate incoming infrared illumination to enable a 9x enhancement in the generation rate of higher-energy photoluminescent photons. Second, Xuenan Zhao and colleagues [8] study the challenge where tandem organic solar cells deployed in real-world conditions are vulnerable to current mismatch, as solar input angles change with the time of day as well as the seasons. To address this challenge, they design an all-angle tandem organic solar cell.…”