A 2026 Nature study reports a synergistic approach to boosting perovskite/silicon triple-junction solar cells by combining defect passivation with optical management to push beyond traditional efficiency limits while improving stability.

The optimized devices deliver certified steady-state power conversion efficiencies of 32.22% on a 1.046 cm2 aperture and 26.97% on a 15.62 cm2 aperture, with negligible hysteresis observed.

The study introduces a passivating molecule, 4F-POEABr, which passivates surface defects in wide-bandgap perovskites, lowering non-radiative losses and achieving a quasi-Fermi level splitting of 1.53 eV and an open-circuit voltage of 1.413 V in the wide-bandgap sub-cell.

Overall, the work combines chemical and physical strategies to edge perovskite/silicon triple-junction cells toward theoretical efficiency limits and enable scalable, high-performance photovoltaic technology.

In the middle sub-cell, light management is enhanced with a tailored tin oxide/indium zinc oxide bilayer, producing a current density gain of 0.5 mA per square centimeter.

Robust interconnection layers and engineered interfaces in the perovskite stack contribute to better operational stability and reduced device-to-device variation.