Perovskite solar cells have characteristics that many existing solar cells do not, because they can achieve high power conversion efficiency, are inexpensive to manufacture, and have high absorption efficiency under sunlight.

In addition, perovskite solar cells or modules can also be used to enhance standard silicon (Si) solar technology when the design absorbs a spectral range that is complementary to the optical range of the silicon cell. Use the two together for better results.

By stacking perovskite solar cells or modules on top of Si solar cells, power conversion efficiencies of more than 30% can be effectively achieved, thereby exceeding the efficiency of the best single-junction Si solar cells.

In 2016, for the first time, Imec superimposed a translucent perovskite module on top of a cross reverse contact (IBC) crystalline silicon solar cell in a four-terminal series configuration, thereby achieving an overall power conversion efficiency of 20.2% per square centimeter.

Imec now reports a significant improvement in this technology, resulting in a high power conversion efficiency of this size of the unit module stack reaching 23.9%.

For perovskite modules and Si solar cells, a four-terminal perovskite/silicon series connection achieves a matching aperture area of 4.2 cm.