Performance Limits of Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Solar Cells

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) exhibit promising optoelectronic properties for use as absorber material in high-specific-power photovoltaics, including their high optical absorption coefficients, desirable band gaps, and self-passivated surfaces. The ultimate performance limit of TMD solar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in2023 Middle East and North Africa Solar Conference (MENA-SC) pp. 1 - 3
Main Authors Nazif, Koosha Nassiri, Nitta, Frederick U., Daus, Alwin, Saraswat, Krishna C., Pop, Eric
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published IEEE 15.11.2023
Subjects
Absorption
Loss measurement
Optical losses
Optical materials
Optical variables measurement
Photovoltaic cells
Photovoltaic systems
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Summary:Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) exhibit promising optoelectronic properties for use as absorber material in high-specific-power photovoltaics, including their high optical absorption coefficients, desirable band gaps, and self-passivated surfaces. The ultimate performance limit of TMD solar cells is therefore of interest. In this study, we determine the power conversion efficiency limit of multilayer MoS 2 , MoSe 2 , WS 2 , and WSe 2 solar cells under AM 1.5 G illumination as a function of thickness and material quality. We use an extended version of the detailed balance method which includes Auger and Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombinations in addition to radiative losses, calculated from measured optical absorption spectra. We demonstrate that ultrathin TMD solar cells (as thin as 50 nm) can in practice achieve up to 25% power conversion efficiency with their current-stage material quality, already making them an excellent choice for high-specific-power photovoltaic applications.
DOI:10.1109/MENA-SC54044.2023.10374533