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Hybrid tandem solar cell enhanced by a metallic hole-array as the intermediate electrode

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Abstract

A metallic hole-array structure was inserted into a tandem solar cell structure as an intermediate electrode, which allows a further fabrication of a novel and efficient hybrid organic-inorganic tandem solar cell. The inserted hole-array layer reflects the higher-energy photons back to the top cell, and transmits lower-energy photons to the bottom cell via the extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) effect. In this case light absorption in both top and bottom subcells can be simultaneously enhanced via both structural and material optimizations. Importantly, this new design could remove the constraints of requiring lattice-matching and current-matching between the used two cascaded subcells in a conventional tandem cell structure, and therefore, the tunnel junction could be no longer required. As an example, a novel PCBM/CIGS tandem cell was designed and investigated. A systematic modeling study was made on the structural parameter tuning, with the period ranging from a few hundreds nanometers to over one micrometer. Surface plasmon polaritons, magnetic plasmon polaritons, localized surface plasmons, and optical waveguide modes were found to participate in the EOT and the light absorption enhancement. Impressively, more than 40% integrated power enhancement can be achieved in a variable structural parameter range.

© 2014 Optical Society of America

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Figures (11)

Fig. 1
Fig. 1 (a) and (b) are the schematic illustrations of the novel and the comparative conventional planar tandem solar cells. (c) and (d) are their equivalent electrical connections, respectively.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2 (a, b) 3D (a) and 2D (b) schematic illustrations of the PCBM/CIGS tandem cell. (c, d) Real (c) and imaginary (d) parts of the optical constants of PCBM and CIGS. (c) and (d) share the same legend. The inset in (d) shows a detailed schematic of the Ag hole-array.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3 (a, b, c) Transmittance of the incident power into the top (Tt) and the bottom (Tb) subcells, when p = 300 nm (a), 550 nm (b), 1000 nm (c), f = 0.5, tm = 50 nm. (d) Mapping of the Tb spectrum with varying periods and with fixing f = 0.5, tm = 50 nm.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4 (a, b) Normalized field distribution at the y-z cross-section at the peak 780 nm (a) and 820 nm (b) wavelengths, when p = 300 nm, w = 150 nm, tm = 50 nm. (c) Tb spectra with different p values around 300 nm. (d) Tb spectra with different tm values around 50 nm. The inset in (d) exhibits the distances of the two SPPs peaks varying with tm.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5 (a) Normalized field distribution at the y-z cross-section at 920 nm wavelength, when p = 550 nm, w = 275 nm, tm = 50 nm. (b) Tb spectra with different p values around 550 nm. (c) Tb spectra with different tm values around 50 nm.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6 (a, b) Normalized field distribution at the y-z cross-section at 820 nm (a) and 1050 nm (b) wavelength, when p = 1000 nm, w = 500 nm, tm = 50 nm. (c) Tb spectra with different p values around 500 nm, while fixing w = 500 nm. (d) Tb spectra with different tb values around 100 nm. (e) Tb spectra with different tm values around 50 nm.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7 (a, b) Absorptance of the top (a) and the bottom (b) subcells, when p = 300 nm, 550 nm and 1000 nm, f = 0.5, tm = 50 nm. The results from the planar cell structure are shown with black solid lines as comparison. (c) Absorptance in the Ag HA. (d) Mapping of the Ab spectra with varying periods and fixing f = 0.5, tm = 50 nm.
Fig. 8
Fig. 8 (a) Epower varying with p, when f = 0.5, tm = 50 nm. (b) Relative absorptance spectra AR for different p values and the planar structure for comparison.
Fig. 9
Fig. 9 (a, b, c) Ab spectra with different f values and the planar structure, when p = 300 nm (a), 550 nm (b) and 1000 nm (c), and fixing tm = 50 nm. (d) Epower varying with f, for different p values.
Fig. 10
Fig. 10 (a, b, c) Ab spectra with different tm values and the planar structure, when p = 300 nm (a), 550 nm (b) and 1000 nm (c), and fixing f = 0.5. (d) Epower varying with tm, for different p values.
Fig. 11
Fig. 11 (a, b, c) Ab spectra with different tITO values, when p = 300 nm (a), 550 nm (b) and 1000 nm (c), and fixing f = 0.5. (d) Epower varying with tITO, for different p values.
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