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Kern S, Yi G, Büttner P, Scheler F, Tran MH, Korenko S, Dehm KE, Kundrata I, Zahl A, Albrecht S, Bachmann J, Crisp RW. Monolithic Two-Terminal Tandem Solar Cells Using Sb 2S 3 and Solution-Processed PbS Quantum Dots Achieving an Open-Circuit Potential beyond 1.1 V. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2024; 16:13903-13913. [PMID: 38459939 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c16154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/11/2024]
Abstract
Multijunction solar cells have the prospect of a greater theoretical efficiency limit than single-junction solar cells by minimizing the transmissive and thermalization losses a single absorber material has. In solar cell applications, Sb2S3 is considered an attractive absorber due to its elemental abundance, stability, and high absorption coefficient in the visible range of the solar spectrum, yet with a band gap of 1.7 eV, it is transmissive for near-IR and IR photons. Using it as the top cell (the cell where light is first incident) in a two-terminal tandem architecture in combination with a bottom cell (the cell where light arrives second) of PbS quantum dots (QDs), which have an adjustable band gap suitable for absorbing longer wavelengths, is a promising approach to harvest the solar spectrum more effectively. In this work, these two subcells are monolithically fabricated and connected in series by a poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS)-ZnO tunnel junction as the recombination layer. We explore the surface morphology of ZnO QD films with different spin-coating conditions, which serve as the PbS QD cell's electron transport material. Furthermore, we examine the differences in photogenerated current upon varying the PbS QD absorber layer thickness and the electrical and optical characteristics of the tandem with respect to the stand-alone reference cells. This tandem architecture demonstrates an extended spectral response into the IR with an open-circuit potential exceeding 1.1 V and a power conversion efficiency of 5.6%, which is greater than that of each single-junction cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selina Kern
- Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstr. 3, Erlangen 91058, Germany
| | - Gyusang Yi
- Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstr. 3, Erlangen 91058, Germany
| | - Pascal Büttner
- Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstr. 3, Erlangen 91058, Germany
| | - Florian Scheler
- Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstr. 3, Erlangen 91058, Germany
- Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Berlin 12489, Germany
| | - Minh-Hoa Tran
- Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstr. 3, Erlangen 91058, Germany
| | - Sofia Korenko
- Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstr. 3, Erlangen 91058, Germany
| | - Katharina E Dehm
- Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstr. 3, Erlangen 91058, Germany
| | - Ivan Kundrata
- Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstr. 3, Erlangen 91058, Germany
| | - Achim Zahl
- Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstr. 3, Erlangen 91058, Germany
| | - Steve Albrecht
- Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Berlin 12489, Germany
| | - Julien Bachmann
- Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstr. 3, Erlangen 91058, Germany
| | - Ryan W Crisp
- Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstr. 3, Erlangen 91058, Germany
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Mizuno H, Makita K, Sai H, Mochizuki T, Matsui T, Takato H, Müller R, Lackner D, Dimroth F, Sugaya T. Integration of Si Heterojunction Solar Cells with III-V Solar Cells by the Pd Nanoparticle Array-Mediated "Smart Stack" Approach. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2022; 14:11322-11329. [PMID: 35119838 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c22458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
This paper describes the way to fabricate two-terminal tandem solar cells using Si heterojunction (SHJ) bottom cells and GaAs-relevant III-V top cells by "smart stack", an approach enabling the series connection of dissimilar solar cells through Pd nanoparticle (NP) arrays. It was suggested that placing the Pd NP arrays directly on typical SHJ cells results in poor tandem performance because of the insufficient electrical contacts and/or deteriorated passivation quality of the SHJ cells. Therefore, hydrogenated nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si:H) layers were introduced between Pd NPs and SHJ cells to improve the electrical contacts and preserve the passivation quality. Such nc-Si:H-capped SHJ cells were integrated with InGaP/AlGaAs double-junction cells, and a certified efficiency of 27.4% (under AM 1.5 G) was achieved. In addition, this paper addresses detailed analyses of the 27.4% cell. It was revealed that the cell had a relatively large gap at the smart stack interface, which limited the short-circuit current density (thereby the efficiency) of the cell. Therefore, higher efficiency would be expected by reducing the interfacial gap distance, which is governed by the height of the Pd NPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hidenori Mizuno
- Renewable Energy Research Center, Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 2-2-9 Machiike-dai, Koriyama, Fukushima 963-0298, Japan
| | - Kikuo Makita
- Global Zero Emission Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Central 2, 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan
| | - Hitoshi Sai
- Global Zero Emission Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Central 2, 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan
| | - Toshimitsu Mochizuki
- Renewable Energy Research Center, Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 2-2-9 Machiike-dai, Koriyama, Fukushima 963-0298, Japan
| | - Takuya Matsui
- Global Zero Emission Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Central 2, 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan
| | - Hidetaka Takato
- Renewable Energy Research Center, Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 2-2-9 Machiike-dai, Koriyama, Fukushima 963-0298, Japan
| | - Ralph Müller
- Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Heidenhofstraße 2, Freiburg 79110, Germany
| | - David Lackner
- Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Heidenhofstraße 2, Freiburg 79110, Germany
| | - Frank Dimroth
- Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Heidenhofstraße 2, Freiburg 79110, Germany
| | - Takeyoshi Sugaya
- Global Zero Emission Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Central 2, 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan
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Nwaji N, Akinoglu EM, Lin B, Wang X, Giersig M. One-Pot Synthesis of One-Dimensional Multijunction Semiconductor Nanochains from Cu 1.94S, CdS, and ZnS for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2021; 13:58630-58639. [PMID: 34866382 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c18020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Chains of alternating semiconductor nanocrystals are complex nanostructures that can offer control over photogenerated charge carriers dynamics and quantized electronic states. We develop a simple one-pot colloidal synthesis of complex Cu1.94S-CdS and Cu1.94S-ZnS nanochains exploiting an equilibrium driving ion exchange mechanism. The chain length of the heterostructures can be tuned using a concentration dependent cation exchange mechanism controlled by the precursor concentrations, which enables the synthesis of monodisperse and uniform Cu1.94S-CdS-Cu1.94S nanochains featuring three epitaxial junctions. These seamless junctions enable efficient separation of photogenerated charge carriers, which can be harvested for photocatalytic applications. We demonstrate the superior photocatalytic activity of these noble metal free materials through solar hydrogen generation at a hydrogen evolution rate of 22.01 mmol g-1 h-1, which is 1.5-fold that of Pt/CdS heterostructure photocatalyst particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Njemuwa Nwaji
- International Academy of Optoelectronics at Zhaoqing, South China Normal University, Liyuan Street, 526238 Guangdong, China
| | - Eser Metin Akinoglu
- International Academy of Optoelectronics at Zhaoqing, South China Normal University, Liyuan Street, 526238 Guangdong, China
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Biyun Lin
- International Academy of Optoelectronics at Zhaoqing, South China Normal University, Liyuan Street, 526238 Guangdong, China
- National Center for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Xin Wang
- International Academy of Optoelectronics at Zhaoqing, South China Normal University, Liyuan Street, 526238 Guangdong, China
- National Center for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Michael Giersig
- International Academy of Optoelectronics at Zhaoqing, South China Normal University, Liyuan Street, 526238 Guangdong, China
- Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland
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Liu H, Jiang Y, Fan P, Feng Y, Lan J, Xu G, Zhu X, Zhang X, Hu X, Yang T, Yang B, Zhang Q, Li D, Wang X, Pan A. Polar-Induced Selective Epitaxial Growth of Multijunction Nanoribbons for High-Performance Optoelectronics. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2019; 11:15813-15820. [PMID: 30964265 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b04470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Semiconductor heterostructures are basic building blocks for modern electronics and optoelectronics. However, it still remains a great challenge to combine different semiconductor materials in single nanostructures with tailored geometry and chemical composition. Here, a polar-induced selective epitaxial growth method is reported to alternately grow CdS and CdS xSe1- x heterostructure nanoribbons (NRs) side by side in the lateral direction, with the heterointerface (junction) number to be well controlled. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and spatial-resolved μ-PL spectra are employed to characterize the heterostructure NRs, which indicate that the achieved NRs are high-quality heterostructures with sharp interfaces. Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) and femtosecond pump-probe characterizations further confirm the efficient charge-transfer process across the interfaces in the multijunction NRs. Photodetectors based on the achieved NRs are realized and systematically investigated, demonstrating junction number-dependent optoelectronic response behaviors. NRs with more junctions exhibit more superior device performances, reflecting the important roles of the high-quality interface regions. Based on this multijunction NRs device, high on-off ratio (107) and remarkable responsivity (1.5 × 105 A/W) are demonstrated, both of which represent the best results compared to the reported CdS, CdSe, and their heterostructures. These novel multijunction NRs may find broad applications in future integrated photonics and optoelectronics devices and systems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Jianyue Lan
- Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Suzhou 215123 , People's Republic of China
| | - Gengzhao Xu
- Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Suzhou 215123 , People's Republic of China
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Abbas S, Kumar M, Kim HS, Kim J, Lee JH. Silver-Nanowire-Embedded Transparent Metal-Oxide Heterojunction Schottky Photodetector. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2018; 10:14292-14298. [PMID: 29668257 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b05141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
We report a self-biased and transparent Cu4O3/TiO2 heterojunction for ultraviolet photodetection. The dynamic photoresponse improved 8.5 × 104% by adding silver nanowires (AgNWs) Schottky contact and maintaining 39% transparency. The current density-voltage characteristics revealed a strong interfacial electric field, responsible for zero-bias operation. In addition, the dynamic photoresponse measurement endorsed the effective holes collection by embedded-AgNWs network, leading to fast rise and fall time of 0.439 and 0.423 ms, respectively. Similarly, a drastic improvement in responsivity and detectivity of 187.5 mAW-1 and of 5.13 × 109 Jones, is observed, respectively. The AgNWs employed as contact electrode can ensure high-performance for transparent and flexible optoelectronic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Jung-Ho Lee
- Department of Materials and Chemical Engineering , Hanyang University , Ansan , Kyunggido 426-791 , Korea
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Tan H, Furlan A, Li W, Arapov K, Santbergen R, Wienk MM, Zeman M, Smets AHM, Janssen RAJ. Highly Efficient Hybrid Polymer and Amorphous Silicon Multijunction Solar Cells with Effective Optical Management. Adv Mater 2016; 28:2170-2177. [PMID: 26780260 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201504483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2015] [Revised: 12/10/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Highly efficient hybrid multijunction solar cells are constructed with a wide-bandgap amorphous silicon for the front subcell and a low-bandgap polymer for the back subcell. Power conversion efficiencies of 11.6% and 13.2% are achieved in tandem and triple-junction configurations, respectively. The high efficiencies are enabled by deploying effective optical management and by using photoactive materials with complementary absorption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hairen Tan
- Photovoltaic Materials and Devices Laboratory, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 4, 2628 CD, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Alice Furlan
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600, MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Weiwei Li
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600, MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Organic Solids Laboratory, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
| | - Kirill Arapov
- Laboratory of Materials and Interface Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600, MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Rudi Santbergen
- Photovoltaic Materials and Devices Laboratory, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 4, 2628 CD, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Martijn M Wienk
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600, MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research, De Zaale 20, 5612, AJ, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Miro Zeman
- Photovoltaic Materials and Devices Laboratory, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 4, 2628 CD, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Arno H M Smets
- Photovoltaic Materials and Devices Laboratory, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 4, 2628 CD, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - René A J Janssen
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600, MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research, De Zaale 20, 5612, AJ, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
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Duan C, Furlan A, van Franeker JJ, Willems REM, Wienk MM, Janssen RAJ. Wide-Bandgap Benzodithiophene-Benzothiadiazole Copolymers for Highly Efficient Multijunction Polymer Solar Cells. Adv Mater 2015; 27:4461-4468. [PMID: 26134748 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201501626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2015] [Revised: 05/21/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Novel wide-bandgap semiconducting polymers are designed and synthesized for multijunction polymer solar cell (PSC) applications. In single-junction PSCs, BDT-FBT-2T exhibits efficiencies exceeding 6.5% for active layer thicknesses between 90 and 250 nm, with the highest efficiency of 7.7% at 100 and 250 nm. This enables tandem PSCs to be created with an efficiency of 8.9%.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunhui Duan
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P. O. Box 513, 5600, MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Alice Furlan
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P. O. Box 513, 5600, MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Jacobus J van Franeker
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P. O. Box 513, 5600, MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Robin E M Willems
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P. O. Box 513, 5600, MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Martijn M Wienk
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P. O. Box 513, 5600, MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research, De Zaale 20, 5612, AJ, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - René A J Janssen
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P. O. Box 513, 5600, MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research, De Zaale 20, 5612, AJ, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
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Abstract
Direct solar-to-fuels conversion can be achieved by coupling a photovoltaic device with water-splitting catalysts. We demonstrate that a solar-to-fuels efficiency (SFE) > 10% can be achieved with nonprecious, low-cost, and commercially ready materials. We present a systems design of a modular photovoltaic (PV)-electrochemical device comprising a crystalline silicon PV minimodule and low-cost hydrogen-evolution reaction and oxygen-evolution reaction catalysts, without power electronics. This approach allows for facile optimization en route to addressing lower-cost devices relying on crystalline silicon at high SFEs for direct solar-to-fuels conversion.
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Niesen B, Blondiaux N, Boccard M, Stuckelberger M, Pugin R, Scolan E, Meillaud F, Haug FJ, Hessler-Wyser A, Ballif C. Self-patterned nanoparticle layers for vertical interconnects: application in tandem solar cells. Nano Lett 2014; 14:5085-5091. [PMID: 25102168 DOI: 10.1021/nl501774u] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate self-patterned insulating nanoparticle layers to define local electrical interconnects in thin-film electronic devices. We show this with thin-film silicon tandem solar cells, where we introduce between the two component cells a solution-processed SiO2 nanoparticle layer with local openings to allow for charge transport. Because of its low refractive index, high transparency, and smooth surface, the SiO2 nanoparticle layer acts as an excellent intermediate reflector allowing for efficient light management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bjoern Niesen
- Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), Institute of Microengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) , Rue de la Maladière 71, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
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