Benefits of photonic structuring on perovskite solar cells using opal-like layers

Perovskite solar cells have been under the spotlight of the photovoltaics community. However, little is known on the impact of structuring the active material using photonic crystal layers. We present here numerical simulations showing the effect of photonic crystal structuring on the integrated quantum efficiency of perovskite solar cells. The photo-active layer is structured using opal-like perovskite layers made of perovskite (full or truncated) spheres, including hybrid uniform/structured layers, embedded in a TiO2 matrix. The excitation of quasi-guided modes inside the absorbing spheres increases the integrated quantum efficiency and the photonic enhancement factor. A genetic algorithm approach allows us to determine the optimum structure among more than 1.4 10^9 potential combinations. These numerical results of the benefits of photonic structuring on perovskite solar cells are also compared to experimental studies on selected configurations of perovskite solar cells.