Perovskite/c-Si tandem solar cell with inverted nanopyramids: realizing high efficiency by controllable light trapping

Abstract

Perovskite/c-Si tandem solar cells (TSCs) have become a promising candidate in recent years for achieving efficiency over 30%. Although general analysis has shown very high upper limits for such TSCs, it remains largely unclear what specific optical structures could best approach these limits. Here we propose the combination of perovskite/c-Si tandem structure with inverted nanopyramid morphology as a practical way of achieving efficiency above 31% based on realistic solar cell parameters. By full-field simulation, we have shown that an ultra-low surface reflectance can be achieved by tuning the pyramid geometry within the range of experimental feasibility. More importantly, we have demonstrated that the index-guided modes can be excited within the top cell layer by introducing a TCO interlayer that prevents coupling of guided light energy into the bottom cell. This light trapping scheme has shown superior performance over the Bragg stack intermediate reflector utilized in previous micropyramid-based TSCs. Finally, by controlling the coupling between the top and bottom cell through the thickness of the interlayer, current generation within the tandem can be optimized for both two- and four-terminal configurations, yielding efficiencies of 31.9% and 32.0%, respectively. These results have provided useful guidelines for the fabrication of perovskite/c-Si TSCs.