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Quadruple Junction Polymer Solar Cells with Four Complementary Absorber Layers
Author(s) -
Di Carlo Rasi Dario,
Hendriks Koen H.,
Wienk Martijn M.,
Janssen René A. J.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201803836
Subject(s) - materials science , optoelectronics , quantum efficiency , polymer solar cell , polymer , energy conversion efficiency , solar cell , heterojunction , open circuit voltage , photoactive layer , organic solar cell , ray , photon , voltage , optics , composite material , physics , quantum mechanics
A monolithic two‐terminal solution‐processed quadruple junction polymer solar cell in an n–i–p (inverted) configuration with four complementary polymer:fullerene active bulk‐heterojunction layers is presented. The subcells possess different optical bandgaps ranging from 1.90 to 1.13 eV. Optical modeling using the transfer matrix formalism enables prediction of the fraction of absorbed photons from sunlight in each subcell and determine the optimal combination of layer thicknesses. The quadruple junction cell features an open‐circuit voltage of 2.45 V and has a power conversion efficiency of 7.6%, only slightly less than the modeled value of 8.2%. The external quantum efficiency spectrum, determined with appropriate light and voltage bias conditions, exhibits in general an excellent agreement with modeled spectrum. The device performance is presently limited by bimolecular recombination, which prevents using thick photoactive layers that could absorb light more efficiently.