Thanks to their excellent properties of low cost, lightweight, portability, and conformity, flexible perovskite-based tandem solar cells show great potentials for energy harvesting applications, with flexible perovskite/c-silicon tandem solar cells particularly promising for achieving high efficiency.
Are flexible perovskite-based Tandem solar cells suitable for energy harvesting applications?
Thanks to their excellent properties of low cost, lightweight, portability, and conformity, flexible perovskite-based tandem solar cells show great potentials for energy harvesting applications, with flexible perovskite/c-silicon tandem solar cells particularly promising for achieving high efficiency.
In order to continue making increases in solar cell efficiency, solar researchers around the world are now turning to tandem photovoltaics. In this technology two or more sub-cells made of different semiconductor materials are combined so that a larger spectrum of sunlight can be used.
Are tandem solar cells more complex than single-junction solar cells?
Tandem solar cells and modules are significantly more complex than single-junction silicon solar cells. This applies not only to their production, but also to the performance determination. When several sub-cells are combined, new characterization methods must be developed that allow examinations of each of the sub-cells.
The silicon-perovskite tandem solar cell, as the mainstream technology route for next-generation ultra-efficient solar cells, has a theoretical maximum efficiency of up to 43%, far surpassing the Shockley-Queisser limit efficiency of single-junction solar cells (33.7%).
Are tandem solar cells sustainable?
Sustainable aspects such as saving energy and materials in the production process also play a role here. Tandem solar cells and modules are significantly more complex than single-junction silicon solar cells. This applies not only to their production, but also to the performance determination.
According to the reported optical and electrical analysis, the efficiency limit of perovskite/Si tandem cell is over 40%, 32 indicating that there is still a room for boosting the device efficiency of tandem solar cells.