Advancements in Organic-Based Hybrid Tandem Solar Cells Considering Light Absorption and Spectral Matching of Organic Materials

Abstract

Organic solar cells (OSCs) have emerged as promising energy harvesters owing to their outstanding optoelectronic properties, approaching a maximum power conversion efficiency of over 19%. However, single-junction OSCs have limitations in improving efficiency owing to transmission and thermalization losses. To alleviate these drawbacks, a tandem configuration was devised, involving the stacking of two subcells to absorb a broad solar spectrum and minimize transmission and thermalization losses. This tandem strategy is not limited to organic/organic-based systems but extends to organic/perovskite-, organic/colloidal quantum dot (CQD)-, and organic/amorphous silicon (a-Si)-based tandem solar cells (TSCs). This Review commences with a brief overview of developments in organic photoabsorbers and introduces the general concepts of TSCs. Then, we summarize recent research endeavors for organic/organic-, organic/perovskite-, organic/CQD-, and organic/a-Si-based hybrid TSCs. Lastly, the Review concludes by offering insights and prospects for enhancing the performance of organic-based hybrid TSCs by ≥25%.