Device Simulation of Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cell with Antireflective Coating

Abstract Semi-transparent perovskite solar cells have significant potential for their use in tandem solar cells with silicon (Si) or copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) materials. Light management and optical design are important for developing a highly efficient solar cell. Herein, numerical simulation of a perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell was performed using a Matlab analytical program. The single-diode model for a solar cell is used for simulation with ideal working conditions. The tandem solar cell is comprised of two configurations which are the thin film-based perovskite solar cell on top and a wafer-based silicon solar cell on the bottom, and the silicon sub-cell with silicon nitride (SiNx) anti-reflection coatings (ARC) in series-connected configuration. The material properties like energy bandgap, diffusion length, doping concentration are considered for calculating the device parameters. The bandgap and thickness of the perovskite material, refractive indices, photon flux, and wavelength of light are varied to calculate voltage, current, quantum efficiency, and other parameters of the tandem solar cell. The silicon sub-cell with silicon nitride (SiNx) anti-reflection coatings (ARC) in series-connected configuration decreased the reflectivity and increased the overall voltage and current of the tandem cell. The double-layer ARC films have increased the efficiency up to 1%. The efficiency of the two-terminal tandem device is found out to be over 32%. This work provides a pathway for further enhancing the power conversion efficiency of perovskite/Si tandem cells.