Device simulation of quasi-two-dimensional perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells towards 30%-efficiency

Abstract

Perovskite/silicon (Si) tandem solar cells have been recognized as the next-generation photovoltaic technology with efficiency over 30% and low cost. However, the intrinsic instability of traditional three-dimensional (3D) hybrid perovskite seriously hinders the lifetimes of tandem devices. In this work, the quasi-two-dimensional (2D) (BA)2(MA) n – 1Pb n I3n + 1 (n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) (where MA denotes methylammonium and BA represents butylammonium), with senior stability and wider bandgap, are first used as an absorber of semitransparent top perovskite solar cells (PSCs) to construct a four-terminal (4T) tandem devices with a bottom Si-heterojunction cell. The device model is established by Silvaco Atlas based on experimental parameters. Simulation results show that in the optimized tandem device, the top cell (n = 4) obtains a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.39% and the Si bottom cell shows a PCE of 11.44%, thus an overall PCE of 28.83%. Furthermore, by introducing a 90-nm lithium fluoride (LiF) anti-reflection layer to reduce the surface reflection loss, the current density (J sc) of the top cell is enhanced from 15.56 mA/cm2 to 17.09 mA/cm2, the corresponding PCE reaches 19.05%, and the tandem PCE increases to 30.58%. Simultaneously, in the cases of n = 3, 4, and 5, all the tandem PCEs exceed the limiting theoretical efficiency of Si cells. Therefore, the 4T quasi-2D perovskite/Si devices provide a more cost-effective tandem strategy and long-term stability solutions.