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Perovskite–organic tandem solar cells with indium oxide interconnect

Nature volume 604, pages 280–286 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Multijunction solar cells can overcome the fundamental efficiency limits of single-junction devices. The bandgap tunability of metal halide perovskite solar cells renders them attractive for multijunction architectures1. Combinations with silicon and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS), as well as all-perovskite tandem cells, have been reported2,3,4,5. Meanwhile, narrow-gap non-fullerene acceptors have unlocked skyrocketing efficiencies for organic solar cells6,7. Organic and perovskite semiconductors are an attractive combination, sharing similar processing technologies. Currently, perovskite–organic tandems show subpar efficiencies and are limited by the low open-circuit voltage (Voc) of wide-gap perovskite cells8 and losses introduced by the interconnect between the subcells9,10. Here we demonstrate perovskite–organic tandem cells with an efficiency of 24.0 per cent (certified 23.1 per cent) and a high Voc of 2.15 volts. Optimized charge extraction layers afford perovskite subcells with an outstanding combination of high Voc and fill factor. The organic subcells provide a high external quantum efficiency in the near-infrared and, in contrast to paradigmatic concerns about limited photostability of non-fullerene cells11, show an outstanding operational stability if excitons are predominantly generated on the non-fullerene acceptor, which is the case in our tandems. The subcells are connected by an ultrathin (approximately 1.5 nanometres) metal-like indium oxide layer with unprecedented low optical/electrical losses. This work sets a milestone for perovskite–organic tandems, which outperform the best p–i–n perovskite single junctions12 and are on a par with perovskite–CIGS and all-perovskite multijunctions13.

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Fig. 1: Architecture and properties of the organic subcell.
Fig. 2: Optimized wide-gap perovskite subcell.
Fig. 3: Tandem interconnect.
Fig. 4: Perovskite–organic tandem cells.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (within the SPP 2196: grant numbers RI 1551/15-1, RI 1551/12-1; individual grant numbers: RI 1551/18-1, RI 1551/4-3, RI 1551/7-2 and HE 2698/7-2), the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) (grant number: 01DP20008) and the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWi) (grant number: ZF4037809DF8) for financial support. The research leading to these results has received partial funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme under grant agreement no. 951774 (FOXES). This work was also partially funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (grant number: EFRE 0801507), S.O. and C. Koch further thank the SCALUP project. (SOLAR-ERA.NET Cofund 2, id: 32). We thank Mountain Photonics for providing us with a Prizmatix high-power white LED as well as Tesa Germany for providing us with sealing duct tape. We also thank J. Wang and R. Janssen from the Eindhoven University of Technology for their support in verifying some EQE values reported in this work. We thank B. Gault and A. Sturm from the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH for help with the FIB and for enabling the STEM measurements. We also thank the ESRF for the admission of X-ray diffraction measurements and gratefully appreciate the support by our local contacts O. Konovalov and M. Jankowski. Finally, we acknowledge J. Hohl-Ebinger from the Fraunhofer ISE CalLab for valuable consultation throughout the certification process.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: K. O. Brinkmann, T. Becker

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Electronic Devices, University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany

    K. O. Brinkmann, T. Becker, F. Zimmermann, C. Kreusel, T. Gahlmann, M. Theisen, T. Haeger, C. Tückmantel, M. Günster, T. Maschwitz, F. Göbelsmann & T. Riedl

  2. Wuppertal Center for Smart Materials & Systems, University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany

    K. O. Brinkmann, T. Becker, F. Zimmermann, C. Kreusel, T. Gahlmann, M. Theisen, T. Haeger, C. Tückmantel, M. Günster, T. Maschwitz, F. Göbelsmann & T. Riedl

  3. Department of Chemistry, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    S. Olthof, C. Koch, D. Hertel & K. Meerholz

  4. Soft Matter Physics and Optoelectronics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

    P. Caprioglio, F. Peña-Camargo, L. Perdigón-Toro, D. Neher & M. Stolterfoht

  5. Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford, UK

    P. Caprioglio

  6. Young Investigator Group - Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    A. Al-Ashouri & S. Albrecht

  7. Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Technical University Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    S. Albrecht

  8. Institute of Applied Physics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    L. Merten, A. Hinderhofer & F. Schreiber

  9. Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany

    L. Gomell & S. Zhang

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Contributions

T.R., T.B. and K.O.B. conceived and designed the experiments. S.O. and C. Koch contributed the XPS, UPS and IPES analysis. K.O.B., T.B., F.Z., C. Kreusel, M.G., T.M., C.T. and F.G. performed the experimental work on the solar cells. T.G. and M.T. contributed the metal oxide ALD layers as well as electrical characterization. T.H. did the cross-section SEM measurements. P.C., L.P.-T., D.N. and M.S. designed, conducted and evaluated the PLQY/QFLS studies. A.A.-A. and S.A. provided the expertise in the processing of the self-assembled monolayers. D.H. and K.M. contributed temperature-dependent J–V characterization. L.M., A.H. and F.S. designed and conducted the GIWAXS and L.G. and S.Z. the HAADF-STEM and EDS studies. All authors discussed the results and were involved in the writing.

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Correspondence to K. O. Brinkmann or T. Riedl.

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Brinkmann, K.O., Becker, T., Zimmermann, F. et al. Perovskite–organic tandem solar cells with indium oxide interconnect. Nature 604, 280–286 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04455-0

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