Perovskite Solar Cells (PSCs) represent one of the most promising classes of photovoltaic devices. The efficiency of small-area PSCs has now reached ~27% on the active area of 0.0583 cm2. However, to translate this into the commercial viability, the technology must overcome critical challenges associated with scaling from small-area devices to large-area cells or modules. Performance loss upon scaling is commonly attributed to film non-uniformities, pin holes, increased defect densities, parasitic interconnection losses, and the high sheet resistance of transparent conductive electrodes. At the Hybrid Solar Cell (HSC) Laboratory of NCPRE, under the supervision of Prof. Dinesh Kabra, our research focuses on enhancing the scalability and stability of both opaque and near-infrared transparent (NIRT) p-i-n perovskite solar cells for tandem solar cell (TSC) applications. Through systematic optimization of hole transport layer, perovskite absorber, electron transport layer, interface passivation layers, and device engineering, we have achieved a PCE of ~19.8% for single pixel PSC devices with an active area 5.2 cm2, demonstrating excellent scalability potential. These devices exhibited a PCE of 19.8%, with Jsc = 21.77 mA/cm2, Voc = 1.195 V, and FF = 76.1%, as shown in the JV curve in the figure. Also shown is the real device picture (active area of 5.2 cm2) and EL imaging of device. Further optimization of the device morphology and interfacial contact resistance is expected to enhance the fill factor. Based on Sun’s Voc measurement, the FF extracted from the pseudo-JV, is likely to improve to 85.75%, which would increase the device efficiency to 22.32%. These findings demonstrate the strong potential for scalable NIRT PICs for high-efficiency tandem solar cells.
(Left) 5.2 cm2 perovskite solar cells on 3 cm x 3 cm ITO/Glass substrates with lighted JV as well as Suns Voc plots; (Right) Real device picture and EL imaging of device.