Researchers have developed a healing intervention strategy that improves the efficiency and stability of monolithic perovskite and silicon tandem solar cells, according to a study published in Nature Communications.
The process uses a methylammonium thiocyanate (MASCN) solution to treat as-prepared perovskite films deposited on industrial textured silicon. Applying the MASCN solution induces secondary crystal growth, which enhances overall crystallization across the film. This treatment yields a conformal perovskite layer with columnar grains that extend through the full thickness of the film. The team used hybrid two-step deposition methods combining sequential co-evaporation and solution processing.
The resulting 1.68 eV wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells achieved a champion efficiency of 21.1%. In a tandem configuration, the device reached a certified stabilized efficiency of 30.77% and an open-circuit voltage of 1.915 V over an active area of 1.164 cm².
During stability testing, an encapsulated device maintained its initial performance after 3,400 hours of continuous maximum power point tracking under one-sun illumination in ambient conditions.
Trina Solar Company provided the silicon used throughout the project. Authors Wenchi Kong, Haowen Luo, Bowen Yang, and Jiajia Suo contributed equally to the research. Study co-author Hairen Tan is the founder, Chief Scientific Officer, and Chairman of Renshine Solar Co., Ltd., a company commercializing perovskite photovoltaics. Financial support was provided by the National Key R&D Program of China and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
