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Monolithic Perovskite-CIGS Tandem Solar Cells via In Situ
Band Gap Engineering
Teodor Todorov,* Talia Gershon, Oki Gunawan, Yun Seog Lee, Charles Sturdevant,
Liang-Yi Chang, and Supratik Guha*
Dr. T. Todorov, Dr. T. Gershon, Dr. O. Gunawan,
Dr. Y. S. Lee, C. Sturdevant, Dr. L.-Y. Chang,
Dr. S. Guha
IBM T. J. Watson Research Center
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA
E-mail: tktodoro@us.ibm.com; guha@us.ibm.com
DOI: 10.1002/aenm.201500799
lead iodide perovskite top cell on Cu
2
ZnSn(S,Se)
4
kesterite
and Si-based bottom cells.
[10,12]
The remarkable efficiencies of
perovskite devices above 15%, the possibility to process at tem-
peratures below 150 °C, and the highly tunable band gap range
from 1.6 to 2.25 eV make these materials especially attractive
for monolithic tandem integration with CIGS.
[12–20]
Here, we report perovskite-CIGS tandem solar cells in
which each cell was customized for monolithic integration
in the following sequence: transparent conducting electrode
(TCE)/phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)/perovs-
kite/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate
(PEDOT:PSS)/ITO/CdS/CIGS/Mo/Si
3
N
4
/glass. By modifying
our solution-based process,
[21]
the CIGS absorber band gap was
reduced to 1.04 eV for improved photon management. A 30 nm
thick ITO was selected as a transparent recombination layer
that was deposited directly onto the CdS without the intrinsic
ZnO layer commonly used in CIGS devices. The elimination of
ZnO from the device structure was critical for achieving func-
tional perovskite tandems, as we discovered that the presence
of ZnO in proximity to the perovskite layer degrades device per-
formance. Perovskite devices with electron-selective ZnO layers
have been reported previously,
[22–24]
however we found that pro-
cessing at temperatures above 60 °C resulted in deterioration of
the perovskite layer. In contrast, perovskite layers processed on
our ZnO-free CIGS structure could withstand annealing treat-
ments for several hours at 120 °C without any damage.
Considering the importance of precise band gap control in
monolithic tandem devices, we designed a reactor for contin-
uous in situ monitoring and precise control of the optical prop-
erties of the perovskite layer via vapor-based halide exchange
reactions, as illustrated in Figure 1a. The system provided
temperature and pressure control as well as spectroscopic
measurement capability. In a typical process, a sample of spin-
coated lead halide PbX
2
(X = I and/or Br) is placed inside the
temperature-controlled vacuum chamber and annealed in the
presence of methylammonium halide (CH
3
NH
3
X) vapor. A
transparent port at the top of the chamber provides an optical
path for a broad-spectrum light source to illuminate the sample
in the reactor, and a port beneath the sample leads to a spec-
trophotometer, which collects the transmission spectra. The
real-time feedback is used for precise engineering of the per-
ovskite absorber properties by adjusting the temperature, pres-
sure, and precursor type. The process was designed to have
better compatibility with the CIGS device than previously
reported vapor-assisted approaches that employ temperatures in
excess of 120 °C and focus on pure iodide perovskite with fixed
band gap.
[25,26]
In our reactor the conversion temperature was
Enhanced light harvesting by using two or more absorbers with
different band gaps has so far been the most effective approach
to improve the performance of photovoltaic (PV) devices
beyond the practical limits of single p–n junctions.
[1,2]
The
tandem solar cell concept has been implemented commercially
for several PV technologies ranging from the relatively low-
performance amorphous silicon to the highest performance
III–V group materials. A suitable partner absorber could also
benefit the rapidly growing Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)
2
(CIGS) technology
with already highly efficient commercial PV products.
[3]
If the
second absorber could be directly integrated into existing mod-
ules, any resultant increase in efficiency would then lead to pro-
portional cost savings per Watt.
There are two common types of tandem solar cells.
[2]
The
first configuration is the mechanically stacked, consisting of
two independent solar cells one on top of the other that due
to simplicity is commonly used for preliminary studies.
[4,8]
The
second is the monolithic two-terminal device built in series on
a single substrate. This, more practical structure, is the one
most commonly used in industry, and preferred from a techno-
logical and performance perspective. It contains the minimum
number of functional layers and auxiliary elements such as
transparent conductive coatings, substrates, and interconnects
and therefore has the potential for lowest costs as well as optical
and series resistance losses. However, monolithic device inte-
gration requires sophisticated simultaneous optimization of a
series of elements, including current matching between the
devices, development of appropriate recombination layers, and
a careful design of the full fabrication sequence to ensure pro-
cess compatibility with all layers and interfaces formed during
preceding steps.
[9,10]
Despite the obvious advantages of monolithic tandem
devices, achieving high-efficiency monolithic tandems using
CIGS absorbers has been challenging due to degradation of the
p–n junction at temperatures above 200 °C. The highest reported
efficiency of 3.8% was reached through a sophisticated layer
transfer of an organic top device.
[11]
Improved performances
were achieved using a monolithically grown methylammonium
Adv. Energy Mater. 2015, 5, 1500799
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