MatCraft supports optimization of both perovskite and silicon solar cells. The solar cell domain plugin provides physics models for predicting power conversion efficiency and stability from material parameters.
Perovskite absorbers have the general formula ABX3, where A, B, and X site compositions dramatically affect performance:
name: "perovskite-absorber"
domain: solar_cell
components:
- name: ma_fraction
type: continuous
bounds: [0.0, 1.0]
description: "Methylammonium (MA) fraction on A-site"
- name: fa_fraction
type: continuous
bounds: [0.0, 1.0]
description: "Formamidinium (FA) fraction on A-site"
- name: cs_fraction
type: continuous
bounds: [0.0, 0.2]
description: "Cesium fraction on A-site"
- name: pb_fraction
type: continuous
bounds: [0.5, 1.0]
description: "Lead fraction on B-site"
- name: sn_fraction
type: continuous
bounds: [0.0, 0.5]
description: "Tin fraction on B-site"
- name: iodide_fraction
type: continuous
bounds: [0.5, 1.0]
description: "Iodide fraction on X-site"
- name: bromide_fraction
type: continuous
bounds: [0.0, 0.5]
- name: absorber_thickness
type: continuous
bounds: [200, 800]
unit: "nm"
constraints:
- type: sum_equals
components: [ma_fraction, fa_fraction, cs_fraction]
value: 1.0
- type: sum_equals
components: [pb_fraction, sn_fraction]
value: 1.0
- type: sum_equals
components: [iodide_fraction, bromide_fraction]
value: 1.0
objectives:
- name: pce
direction: maximize
unit: "%"
description: "Power conversion efficiency"
- name: stability_t80
direction: maximize
unit: "hours"
description: "Time to 80% of initial efficiency under 1-sun illumination"
- name: bandgap
direction: minimize
description: "Deviation from Shockley-Queisser optimal bandgap (1.34 eV)"The solar cell plugin includes:
A perovskite optimization campaign with 8 parameters typically converges in 15-20 iterations. The Pareto front between efficiency and stability reveals the fundamental trade-off: Sn-rich compositions can achieve high efficiency but suffer from rapid oxidation, while Cs-containing compositions are more stable but have wider bandgaps.
For silicon cells, the domain covers doping profiles, surface texturing parameters, anti-reflection coating thickness, and metallization geometry. The physics model uses a simplified PC1D-style simulation for rapid efficiency estimation.