Enhancing solar cell efficiency: Investigation of high-performance lead-based perovskite-on-silicon (PVK–Si) tandem solar cells through design and numerical analysis

Perovskite solar cells have pulled off a level of conversion efficiency comparable to other well-established photovoltaics, such as silicon and cadmium telluride. Organic–inorganic halide perovskite materials are one of the most appealing and imminent options for developing high performance and cost-effective photovoltaic cells. In this simulation-based research, a highly efficient 2-terminal perovskite-on-silicon (PVK–Si) tandem configuration has been proposed with improved stability and significant cost savings. Initially, the MAPbI3 based perovskite top cell with 1.57 eV bandgap is tested with several distinct hole transport materials (HTMs) and electron transport materials (ETMs), four each. Spiro-OMeTAD as HTM and C60 as ETM are the best performing materials and employed in final top cell configuration to have a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 23.05%. The systems for tandem configuration are experimented after setting the layers of individual top and bottom sub-cells to optimized thicknesses. The thicknesses of both top and bottom absorber layer are adjusted to find out the current matching point. The tandem configuration exhibits optimized thicknesses of 250 nm and 150 µm for top and bottom sub-cells, respectively. Performance evaluation of the top cell involves standard AM 1.5G solar spectrum illumination at a 250 nm absorber thickness, while the bottom cell’s performance is assessed using top cell filtered spectrum. The simulated tandem configuration composed of IZO/C60/MAPbI3/spiro-OMeTAD/n-nc-SiOx/n-c-Si/P+ Si showed a champion PCE of 35.31% with a fill factor of 79.46% and open-circuit voltage of 2.12 V. These findings signify substantial advancements in the field of PVK-Si tandem photovoltaic cells, marking a significant stride toward potential commercial applications.