Perovskite/Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells in the Substrate Configuration with Potential for Bifacial Operation

Perovskite/perovskite tandem solar cells have recently exceeded the record power conversion efficiency (PCE) of single-junction perovskite solar cells. They are typically built in the superstrate configuration, in which the device is illuminated from the substrate side. This limits the fabrication of the solar cell to transparent substrates, typically glass coated with a transparent conductive oxide (TCO), and adds constraints because the first subcell that is deposited on the substrate must contain the wide-bandgap perovskite. However, devices in the substrate configuration could potentially be fabricated on a large variety of opaque and inexpensive substrates, such as plastic and metal foils. Importantly, in the substrate configuration the narrow-bandgap subcell is deposited first, which allows for more freedom in the device design. In this work, we report perovskite/perovskite tandem solar cells fabricated in the substrate configuration. As the substrate we use TCO-coated glass on which a solution-processed narrow-bandgap perovskite solar cell is deposited. All of the other layers are then processed using vacuum sublimation, starting with the charge recombination layers, then the wide-bandgap perovskite subcell, and finishing with the transparent top TCO electrode. Proof-of-concept tandem solar cells show a maximum PCE of 20%, which is still moderate compared to those of best-in-class devices realized in the superstrate configuration yet higher than those of the corresponding single-junction devices in the substrate configuration. As both the top and bottom electrodes are semitransparent, these devices also have the potential to be used as bifacial tandem solar cells.