Frontiers of Optoelectronics, Volume. 13, Issue 3, 246(2020)

Possible top cells for next-generation Si-based tandem solar cells

Shuaicheng LU1,2, Chao CHEN1,2、*, and Jiang TANG1,2
Author Affiliations
  • 1Sargent Joint Research Center, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics (WNLO), School of Optical and
  • 2Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, China
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    Si-based solar cells, which have the advantages of high efficiency, low manufacturing costs, and outstanding stability, are dominant in the photovoltaic market. Currently, state-of-the-art Si-based solar cells are approaching the practical limit of efficiency. Constructing Si-based tandem solar cells is one available pathway to break the theoretical efficiency limit of single-junction silicon solar cells. Various top cells have been explored recently in the construction of Si-based tandem devices. Nevertheless, many challenges still stand in the way of extensive commercial application of Si-based tandem solar cells. Herein, we summarize the recent progress of representative Si-based tandem solar cells with different top cells, such as III-V solar cells, wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells, cadmium telluride (CdTe)-related solar cells, Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2 (CIGS)-related solar cells, and amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar cells, and we analyze the main bottlenecks for their next steps of development. Subsequently, we suggest several potential candidate top cells for Si-based tandem devices, such as Sb2S3, Se, CdSe, and Cu2O. These materials have great potential for the development of high-performance and low-cost Si-based tandem solar cells in the future.

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    Shuaicheng LU, Chao CHEN, Jiang TANG. Possible top cells for next-generation Si-based tandem solar cells[J]. Frontiers of Optoelectronics, 2020, 13(3): 246

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    Paper Information

    Category: REVIEW ARTICLE

    Received: May. 24, 2020

    Accepted: Jun. 14, 2020

    Published Online: Nov. 25, 2020

    The Author Email: CHEN Chao (cchen@mail.hust.edu.cn)

    DOI:10.1007/s12200-020-1050-y

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