Antimony Chalcogenide: Top Cell Alternative for Silicon Tandem Cells

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This project aims to reduce the cost of silicon (Si) based tandem solar cells by developing an earth-abundant, restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS)-compliant antimony chalcogenide top cell. The power conversion efficiency of Si photovoltaic (PV) technology has reached its practical limit in the lab. Reducing Si PV costs further requires technological evolution beyond theoretical Shockley-Queisser efficiency limits. Tandem cells with appropriate thin-film PV technology on crystalline Si bottom cells offer the most compelling option for Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) reduction. Despite progress on the high bandgap top cells, there is no affirmed top cell solution for Si-based tandem cells that meets all key requirements of high-efficiency, stability, cost-effectiveness and limited environmental impact. This project aims to ease this transition by using an antimony chalcogenide top cell for Si tandem cells, offering performance gains without sacrificing other requirements. UNSW will work with project partners to maximise the potential of antimony chalcogenide and provide an appealing alternative top cell with excellent merits for Si-based tandems.Starting from the UNSW research team’s recent 10% world-record efficiency antimony selenosulfide cells, progress towards beyond 20% efficiency Sb2(S,Se)3/Si tandem cells will be realised by implementing a bottom-up research and development approach, with combined experimental and theoretical exploration, identified key-step change processing strategies regarding the design of absorber, interfaces and architectures.

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