Perovskite Solar Cells Go Bifacial—Mutual Benefits for Efficiency and Durability

Abstract

Bifacial solar cells hold the potential to achieve a higher power output per unit area than conventional monofacial devices without significantly increasing manufacturing costs. However, efficient bifacial designs are challenging to implement in inorganic thin‐film solar cells because of their short carrier lifetimes and high rear surface recombination. The emergence of perovskite photovoltaic (PV) technology creates a golden opportunity to realize efficient bifacial thin‐film solar cells, owing to their outstanding optoelectronic properties and unique features of device physics. More importantly, transparent conducting oxide electrodes can prevent electrode corrosion by halide ions, mitigating one major instability issue of the perovskite devices. Here, the theory of bifacial PV devices is summarized and the advantages of bifacial perovskite solar cells, such as high power output, enhanced device durability, and low economic and environmental costs, are reviewed. The limitations and challenges for bifacial perovskite solar cells are also discussed. Finally, the awareness of bifacial solar cells as a feasible commercialization pathway of perovskite PV for mainstream solar power generation and building‐integrated PV is advocated and future research directions are suggested.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Dec 21, 2021
Source ID
10.1002/adma.202106805

Entities

People

  • Chongwen Li
  • Lei Chen
  • Yanfa Yan
  • Zhaoning Song

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory
  • Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
  • Solar Energy Technologies Office
  • University of Toledo

Tags

Readers

  • Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Engineering.
  • Marksmanship and Weaponry.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics