Open AccessHybrid tandem solar cell enhanced by a metallic hole-array as the intermediate electrode
Author(s) -
Xuanru Zhang,
Qiuping Huang,
Jigang Hu,
R. J. Knize,
Yalin Lu
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.22.0a1400
Subject(s) - materials science , tandem , optics , optoelectronics , surface plasmon , absorption (acoustics) , surface plasmon polariton , solar cell , plasmon , plasmonic solar cell , extraordinary optical transmission , polymer solar cell , physics , composite material
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.