Effects of Photon Recycling and Luminescent Coupling in All-Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells Assessed by Full Opto-electronic Simulation

Aeberhard, U., Zeder, S.J. and Ruhstaller, B. (2024), Sol. RRL, 8: 2400264. https://doi.org/10.1002/solr.202400264

Our Research team at FLUXiM investigated the performance enhancements in all-perovskite tandem solar cells resulting from photon recycling (PR) and luminescent coupling (LC).

The study employs a comprehensive computational approach, combining both optical and full opto-electronic simulations using Setfos.

Optical processes are modeled using a Green function formalism to account for wave optical effects. At the same time, the full opto-electronic simulations integrate a drift-diffusion model to reflect realistic charge transport, including losses due to mobile ions and non-radiative recombination.

Key findings indicate that PR substantially impacts device performance more than LC, particularly when the tandem cells are close to current matching. LC becomes more relevant in bottom-limited configurations, and its effect is amplified by the voltage increase in the top cell due to PR.

The research also identifies significant parasitic absorption in charge transport and electrode layers, which detracts from the benefits of PR and LC. Despite these losses, the overall performance improvement remains finite, suggesting that further optimization of these devices is possible.

This detailed analysis, which incorporates electrical loss channels, provides insights that enable the full opto-electronic optimization of all-perovskite tandem solar cells, enhancing their efficiency and practical applicability in the field of photovoltaics.