Excitonic Solar Cells

Existing types of solar cells may be divided into two distinct classes:  conventional solar cells, such as silicon p−n junctions, and excitonic solar cells, XSCs. Most organic-based solar cells, including dye-sensitized solar cells, DSSCs, fall into the category of XSCs. In these cells, excitons are generated upon light absorption, and if not created directly at the heterointerface as in DSSCs, they must diffuse to it in order to photogenerate charge carriers. The distinguishing characteristic of XSCs is that charge carriers are generated and simultaneously separated across a heterointerface. In contrast, photogeneration of free electron−hole pairs occurs throughout the bulk semiconductor in conventional cells, and carrier separation upon their arrival at the junction is a subsequent process. This apparently minor mechanistic distinction results in fundamental differences in photovoltaic behavior. For example, the open circuit photovoltage Voc in conventional cells is limited to less than the magnitude of...