Device Physics of next-generation solar cells

The rapid expansion of the solar cell industry is an important factor in combating global warming and realizing a sustainable energy future. As conventional silicon-based cells approach their intrinsic limits, there has been a surge of research on alternative thin-film solar cell technologies, including among others organic, perovskite, quantum-dot, antimony selenide, as well as various combinations of those, i.e. tandem solar cells. These technologies hold the promise of delivering electricity at a lower levelized cost and/or with a lower carbon footprint. However, the energy-lifetime yield of these technologies is yet inferior to commercial Silicon cells, which is often due to non-radiative recombination losses or early device degradation. To enable a systematic improvement, a fundamental understanding of observed loss phenomena is paramount, yet often challenging. This is related to models being derived for Si cells that are not applicable for other thin-film solar cell technologies, or due to the interplay of a large number of parameters that influence the results. To name just one example, the application of Mott-Schottky analysis to determine the built-in field and doping density is not applicable to thin intrinsic solar cells.

This Focus Collection is targeted at device physicists describing important observations that are related but not limited to understanding the recombination kinetics of photogenerated carriers and shed light on bulk and interfacial non-radiative loss mechanisms through models grounded in fundamental physical principles. Preferably, their models are applied to multiple experimental methodologies to strengthen the conclusions. By gathering leading researchers in the field, this collection seeks to provide a platform for the dissemination of insights into the device physics of next-generation solar cells through experimental techniques and theoretical models to overcome barriers posed by non-radiative recombination and stability concerns.