High performance ultra-thin perovskite solar cell by surface plasmon polaritons and waveguide modes

Although perovskite solar cell has been widely studied due to their high-efficiency potential, the design of ultrathin perovskite solar cells for flexible and less toxic device fabrication has received less attention. The use of ultra-thin perovskite thin layer leads to low-efficiency solar cells due to insufficient absorption of light. In this paper, the optical absorption of the ultra-thin PSC is improved via surface plasmon polaritons and waveguide modes through the using a silver back grating electrode into hole transport free-layer structure. The investigations are based on the FDTD numerical method and the effects of grating dimensions and periodicity on the absorption of the active layer are systematically investigated to achieve the high performance of the structure. Also, the value of the short circuit current density was investigated by changing the dimensions of the grating. In the optimum device with the thickness of the absorber layer of 150 nm, the absorption enhancement of 20% is obtained in the wavelength 300 nm-800 nm compared to the reference flat solar cell. In addition, the design of ultrathin solar cells based on the grating electrode with perovskite thicknesses of 50 nm, 100 nm, and 200 nm is studied. The results provide a way for the design and production ultra-thin, low toxicity, and high performance solar cells.