Interlayer Microstructure Analysis of the Transition Zone in the Silicon/Perovskite Tandem Solar Cell

Abstract

The aim of the paper was to determine the morphology of the layers and the microstructure of the transition zone present in the proposed tandem solar structure. The bottom-silicon solar cell plays a double role: first as a highly porous non-reflecting material, and second as a scaffold for top-perovskite cell. In the presented solution, the use of a porous layer made of (e.g., TiO2) is excluded in favor of chemically etched wires on the silicon surface. The porous layer of silicon consists of nano- and microwires etched with metal assisted etching (MAE). The perovskite layer is introduced by a two-step chemical method into the spaces between the wires to fully fill them and intentionally form an additional capping layer at the same time. To examine the structure made in this way, advanced microscopic methods were used including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), also in high resolution.