Eliminating contact degradation in thin-film solar cells

Understanding and minimizing non-radiative recombination pathways from contacts and interfaces is key to enhanced efficiencies in emerging solar cells. Non-radiative recombination in any form, i.e. trap-assisted, or surface recombination of minority carriers at the (wrong) electrode will inevitably lead to lower efficiencies. However, given the fast development of the efficiencies, the stability of both PSCs and OPVs is still not satisfactory. The challenge to suppress non-radiative recombination losses in OPVs and PSCs on their way to the radiative limit lies in proper energy level alignment and suppression of recombination from defects at interfaces, and contacts enabling increased effciencies and lifetimes.