Reverse-bias resilience of monolithic perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells

Metal halide perovskites have rapidly enabled a range of high-performance photovoltaic technologies. However, catastrophic failure under reverse voltage bias poses a roadblock for their commercialization. In this work, we conduct a series of stress tests to compare the reverse-bias stability of perovskite single-junction, silicon single-junction, and monolithic perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. We demonstrate that the tested perovskite/silicon tandem devices are considerably more resilient against reverse bias compared with perovskite single-junction devices. The origin of such improved stability stems from the low reverse-bias diode current of the silicon subcell. This translates to dropping most of the voltage over the silicon subcell, where such a favorable voltage distribution protects the perovskite subcell from reverse-bias-induced degradation. These results highlight that, compared with other perovskite technologies, monolithic perovskite/silicon tandems are at a higher technology readiness level in terms of tackling the reverse bias and partial shading challenges, which is a considerable advantage toward commercialization.

Automated summary

Metal halide perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells show improved stability under reverse-bias conditions compared to perovskite single-junction devices. The low reverse-bias diode current in the silicon subcell protects the perovskite subcell from degradation. Monolithic perovskite/silicon tandems have a higher technology readiness level in tackling reverse bias and partial shading challenges, making them advantageous for commercialization.