| AVS 60th International Symposium and Exhibition | |
| Accelerating Materials Discovery for Global Competitiveness Focus Topic | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session MG+EM+MI+MS-WeM |
| Session: | Materials Discovery and Optimization through Iterative Approaches |
| Presenter: | A. Zakutayev, National Renewable Energy Laboratory |
| Authors: | A. Zakutayev, National Renewable Energy Laboratory V. Stevanovic, Colorado School of Mines S. Lany, National Renewable Energy Laboratory J. Perkins, National Renewable Energy Laboratory D. Ginley, National Renewable Energy Laboratory |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
The rate of progress in the field of solar cells has been historically limited by the need for materials with desired functionality. Two complementary high-throughput approaches that have potential to facilitate such innovation are combinatorial thin-film experiments and predictive first-principles theory. Here we present examples of accelerated optimization of solar cell materials using the combined theoretical/experimental approach. The specific examples include (i) photovoltaic absorbers, and (ii) p-type contacts for solar cells
(i) PV absorbers are the key elements in any solar cells. Functionally, the absorbers are required to (1) absorb sunlight, and (2) facilitate extraction of charge carriers. We demonstrate accelerated progress towards (a) enhancement of optical absorption in Cu2O, (b) improvement of electrical charge transport properties of Cu3N, and (c) optimization of Cu-Sn-S material with respect to both optical and electrical properties. Our progress towards integration of these materials into thin film solar cell prototypes also will be discussed.
(ii) p-type contacts are needed for next-generation thin-film photovotlaics. Functionally such p-type contacts are required to (1) transmit sunlight, and (2) conduct holes. To accelerate the progress, we show (a) formulation of design principles (d6 oxide spinels) to guide the candidate selection [1, 2, 3], (b) down-selection of the most promising materials (Co2ZnO4 and Co2NiO4) from ~30 candidates using predictive theory [4], (c) optimization of the selected best-of-class materials (Co-Zn-O, Co-Ni-O) using thin-film combinatorial experiments [5], and (d) integration of the optimized materials (Zn-Ni-Co-O) as hole transport layers in organic photovotlaic devices [6].
In summary, combination of high-throughput theoretical and experimental methods demonstrated here can significantly accelerate the development of materials for thin film solar cells. This approach should be also suitable for discovery and optimization of materials for other technological applications.
This research is supported by U.S. Department of Energy, as a part of two NextGen Sunshot projects, an Energy Frontier Research Center, and a “Rapid Developement” agreement.
[1] V. Stevanovic et al Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 075501 (2010)
[2] V. Stevanovic et al J. Am. Chem Soc. 133, 11649 (2011)
[3] J. Perkins, A. Zakutayev et al Phys. Rev. B 84, 205207 (2011)
[4] T. Paudel, A. Zakutayev et al Adv. Func. Mat. 21, 4493 (2011)
[5] A. Zakutayev et al Phys. Rev. B 85, 085204 (2012)
[6] A. Zakutayev et al MRS Comm. 1, 23 (2011)