Tandem Solar Cell Approach: Unveiling the Potential of Rudorffite/Silicon Combinations for Providing the Best Solar Cell Performance

Abstract

The first-ever investigation on rudorffite/silicon-based two-terminal (2T) tandem solar cells is presented in this innovative study, which investigates their potential to achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency. Thus, the only way to improve conversion efficiency in rudorffite photovoltaic systems would be to use multijunction or tandem ideas. For three distinct rudorffite materials—Ag3BiI6 (1.71 eV), Ag2BiI5 (1.90 eV), and AgBiI4 (1.87 eV)—a number of parameters, including absorber thickness, electron transport layer thickness, hole transport layer thickness, absorber defects, and interference defects, are optimized. For every rudorffite material, the optimization efforts produce outstanding results that led to a notable increase in efficiency. The efficiency of Ag3BiI6 increases from 5.77% to a remarkable 15.26%. Similarly, there is a significant improvement in the efficiency of Ag2BiI5, with an increase from 4.10 to 10.59%. Finally, AgBiI4 shows significant improvement, with efficiency increasing from 4.06 to 10.44%. The 2T double-junction solar cell configuration is investigated by combining rudorffite top cells with silicon-based bottom cells. According to the results, the efficiency of Ag3BiI6, Ag2BiI5, and AgBiI4 tandem solar cells is 22.31, 18.63, and 18.89%, respectively, showing remarkable improvements over their single-cell counterparts.