Constructing tin oxides Interfacial Layer with Gradient Compositions for Efficient Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells with Efficiency Exceeding 28%

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) growth of conformal thin SnOx films on perovskite absorbers offers a promising method to improve carrier-selective contacts, enable sputter processing, and prevent humidity ingress toward high-performance tandem perovskite solar cells. However, the interaction between perovskite materials and reactive ALD precursor limits the process parameters of ALD-SnOx film and requires an additional fullerene layer. Here, it demonstrates that reducing the water dose to deposit SnOx can reduce the degradation effect upon the perovskite underlayer while increasing the water dose to promote the oxidization can improve the electrical properties. Accordingly, a SnOx buffer layer with a gradient composition structure is designed, in which the compositionally varying are achieved by gradually increasing the oxygen source during the vapor deposition from the bottom to the top layer. In addition, the gradient SnOx structure with favorable energy funnels significantly enhances carrier extraction, further minimizing its dependence on the fullerene layer. Its broad applicability for different perovskite compositions and various textured morphology is demonstrated. Notably, the design boosts the efficiencies of perovskite/silicon tandem cells (1.0 cm2) on industrially textured Czochralski (CZ) silicon to a certified efficiency of 28.0%. A SnOx interfacial layer with gradient compositions has been designed to overcome the dilemma between interface defects and electrical properties. Owing to the formation of homojunction, the gradient SnOx structure facilitates the charge extraction, enabling the perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells based on industrially fully-textured silicon to achieve a certified efficiency of over 28%.image

Automated summary

The growth of thin SnOx films on perovskite absorbers using atomic layer deposition (ALD) offers a promising method for improving carrier-selective contacts and preventing humidity ingress in high-performance tandem perovskite solar cells. However, the interaction between perovskite materials and ALD precursor restricts the process parameters and requires an additional fullerene layer. This study demonstrates that reducing the water dose during SnOx deposition can reduce degradation of the perovskite underlayer, while increasing the water dose improves the electrical properties. A SnOx buffer layer with a gradient composition structure is designed to enhance carrier extraction and minimize reliance on the fullerene layer. The design shows broad applicability for different perovskite compositions and textured morphologies, and achieves a certified efficiency of 28.0% for perovskite/silicon tandem cells.