Plasmonic Nanoparticles’ Impact on Perovskite–Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells’ Thickness and Weight

Abstract

In this work, we report on the plasmonic impact of metal nanoparticles of different compositions, sizes, vertical positions, concentrations, and shell thicknesses dispersed inside the mixed (lead–tin) narrow-band gap (NBG) perovskite layer of perovskite–perovskite tandem solar cells (TPSCs) on TPSCs’ (i) NBG thickness reduction, (ii) absorption, and (iii) power-per-weight output (PPW) enhancement. The aim is to establish guidelines for the highly promising development of efficient, viable, and environmentally friendly plasmonic-enhanced tandem solar cells and examine metal nanoparticles’ plasmonic and weight impact on the PPW output of solar cells and tandem configurations by means of a detailed numerical analysis and optimization procedure on TPSC architectures. Based on the high NBG thickness reductions predicted (>650 nm, >60% decrease) and PPW increase (+14 W/g, ∼50% improvement) under current matching conditions with the front wide-band gap subcell, results indicate that enhanced light-trapping (due to localized surface-plasmon effects) combined with metal nanoparticles simplicity at processing provide a means to attain efficient and viable TPSCs using NBG films much thinner than those usually employed (>1 μm), thus facilitating collection of photocarriers, reducing cost and the amount of potentially toxic lead–tin present in the device, and enhancing PPW output. The detailed theoretical analysis serves as a guide for various applications that can benefit from the plasmonic effect and band gap tunability, including photovoltaics of different materials (e.g., perovskite-organic tandems), PPW applications, light-emitting diodes, and sensors, also further promoting the viability of TPSCs in emerging applications such as space applications, portable/wearable electronics, automobiles, or other applications where there is a stringent limitation on the PPW ratio of the photovoltaic panel.