Efficiently-designed hybrid tandem photovoltaic with organic and inorganic single cells

Abstract

Conjugated polymers for solar-cell applications have been extensively studied and have proven highly beneficial in tandem solar-cell structures. This study focuses on achieving power conversion efficiencies of greater than 10% when in tandem with a highly efficient copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar cell. The optimal design is suggested based on the result of optical simulations on the organic-CIGS tandem structure. This is one of the first reports to show theoretically an organic-CIGS tandem solar cell to obtain an efficiency of greater than 10%. The best PCE was at a thickness of 200 nm for PTB7:PCBM, the active layer of the organic solar cell, and 400 nm for CIGS active layer. Our best datum showed an efficiency of 11.41% with a short-circuit current density of 11.56 mA/cm2 and a good spectral response at our optimized thicknesses.