Numerical drift-diffusion analysis of current flow and photoelectric effect in metal halide perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell considering temperature, structure and doping effects for device optimization.

Juan Alberto Gonzalez Cuevas^a, Luis Bernal^a, Giovanni Secchia^a, Juan De Egea^a, Fernando Pio Barrios^a

^aFacultad de ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Paraguay

Proceedings of MATSUS Spring 2026 Conference (MATSUSSpring26)

A5 From halide perovskites to perovskite-inspired materials – Synthesis, Modelling and Application

Barcelona, Spain, 2026 March 23rd - 27th

Organizers: Gustavo de Miguel, Lorenzo Malavasi and Isabella Poli

Oral, Juan Alberto Gonzalez Cuevas, presentation 618
Publication date: 15th December 2025

A drift-diffusion model is developed to calculate the spectral response, current-voltage characteristics and conversion efficiency of a thin film metal halide perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell. The model is based on solving carrier continuity partial differential equations to obtain the spatial distribution and time evolution of electron and hole densities, coupled with Poisson’s equation in order to get the electric field and potential influence on carrier drift considering the doped charges in layers of the device.

The photogeneration of carriers is dependent upon the absorption coefficient and normal incident reflectivity. Drift and diffusion currents correspond to the flow of carriers due to the electric field and concentration gradient, which depend on carrier mobilities, recombination mechanisms both at the surface and within the device [1-3], and absorption-reflection coefficients derived from the dielectric function of the perovskite and silicon materials [4-6], with temperature effects arising from the variation of energy levels due to lattice expansion and contraction [7].

The structure of the modeled two-terminal solar cell consists of spiro-OMeTAD/CH₃NH₄PbI₃/SnO₂layers in tandem over a p⁺⁺/n/ n⁺⁺ silicon cell. Ohmic contacts are assumed at the front and back of the device with corresponding boundary conditions for carrier densities and potential. Results have been compared to similar perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells with high conversion efficiency [8-11].

The equations were numerically solved employing both finite difference and finite element discretization methods using MATLAB and COMSOL Multiphysics software.

For performance enhancement, the solar cell quantum efficiency, fill factor, conversion efficiency and open circuit voltage have been evaluated for different values of structural parameters such as layer depth and doping, as well as operating variables such as temperature and photon energy, in order to decrease charge accumulation and carrier recombination and approach the Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit.

References:

[1] Ren, X., Wang, Z., Sha, W. E., Choy, W. C., Exploring the way to approach the efficiency limit of perovskite solar cells by drift-diffusion model. Acs Photonics 2017, 4(4), 934-942.

[2] Yadav, S., Kareem, M. A., Kodali, H. K., Agarwal, D., Garg, A., Verma, A., Nalwa, K. S., Optoelectronic modeling of all-perovskite tandem solar cells with design rules to achieve> 30% efficiency. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 2022, 242, 111780.

[3] Amir, M., Masood, I., Singh, M. P., Theoretical optimization of CH3NH3PbI3 based perovskite photovoltaic cells, Discover Electronics 2025, 2(1), 41.

[4] Shirayama, M., Kadowaki, H., Miyadera, T., Sugita, T., Tamakoshi, M., Kato, M., Fujiwara, H., Optical transitions in hybrid perovskite solar cells: ellipsometry, density functional theory, and quantum efficiency analyses for CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3. Physical Review Applied 2016, 5(1), 014012.

[5] Adachi, S., Model dielectric constants of Si and Ge. Physical Review B 1988, 38(18), 12966.

[6] Aoki, T., Adachi, S., Temperature dependence of the dielectric function of Si. Journal of applied physics 1991, 69(3), 1574-1582.

[7] Varshni, Y. P. Temperature dependence of the energy gap in semiconductors. Physica 1967, 34(1), 149-154.

[8] Zheng, J., Lau, C. F. J., Mehrvarz, H., Ma, F. J., Jiang, Y., Deng, X., ... & Ho-Baillie, A. W., Large area efficient interface layer free monolithic perovskite/homo-junction-silicon tandem solar cell with over 20% efficiency. Energy & Environmental Science 2018, 11(9), 2432-2443.

[9] Filipič, M., Löper, P., Niesen, B., De Wolf, S., Krč, J., Ballif, C., Topič, M., CH_3NH_3PbI_3 perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells: characterization based optical simulations, Optics express 2015, 23(7), A263-A278.

[10] Nakanishi, A., Takiguchi, Y., Miyajima, S., Device simulation of CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite/heterojunction crystalline silicon monolithic tandem solar cells using an n‐type a‐Si: H/p‐type µc‐Si1–xOx: H tunnel junction, physica status solidi (a) 2016, 213(7), 1997-2002.

[11] Amri, K., Belghouthi, R., Aillerie, M., Gharbi, R., Device optimization of a lead-free perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell with 24.4% power conversion efficiency, Energies 2021, 14(12), 3383.

Acknowledgements:

The authors acknowledge the financial support from CONACYT Paraguay Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología grant number PINV01-623

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