Perovskite Solar Cell Optical Absorption Calculator

Layer-Resolved Absorption in a Solar Cell

This stack tracks where optical power is absorbed in a perovskite photovoltaic device: useful absorption in the MAPbI₃ layer versus parasitic absorption in ITO, the transport layers, and the Au electrode.

Why This Design Works

For a solar cell, total absorption is not enough — only photons absorbed inside the active layer can generate carriers. Layer-resolved absorption separates useful MAPbI₃ absorption from parasitic loss in the transparent electrode, transport layers, and metal contact. By Poynting's theorem, each layer's absorptance equals the optical-flux drop through that layer, and the field profile shows where the power is deposited.

Per-layer absorptance is the drop in time-averaged Poynting flux across layer \(j\). The gap between \(A_{\mathrm{total}}\) and the MAPbI₃ curve is parasitic optical loss; thicker perovskite captures more red light but eventually saturates.

Interactive design tool

This page includes a live transfer-matrix calculator for this design. Adjust the parameters to recompute spectra, layer stack, and performance figures in the browser, then open the design in the full calculator.