Revolutionizing Solar Energy with Bifacial Perovskite Cells
Bifacial perovskite solar cells are making headlines due to their unique capacity to capture sunlight from both sides, signaling a significant advancement in technology-park-discover-the-latest-developments/” title=”Exciting Progress at Broome Technology Park: Discover the Latest Developments!”>energy-misinformation-cleantechnica/” title=”Unveiling the Truth: The Alarming Impact of Renewable Energy Misinformation – CleanTechnica”>renewable energy technology. In a groundbreaking study, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) have developed an innovative NiO/Ag/NiO transparent electrode that enhances efficiency, longevity, and infrared light permeability, paving the way for major improvements in photovoltaic applications.
Innovative Design Using Layered Transparent Electrode
The IIT Dharwad research team detailed their findings in the Journal of Photonics for Energy, where they presented a newly engineered bifacial solar cell featuring an exceptional hybrid top transparent electrode (TE) constructed from a tri-layer configuration of NiO/Ag/NiO (NAN). Through a low-energy physical vapor deposition method, they created an electrode characterized by exceptionally low electrical resistance coupled with high visible light transmission.
This advanced NAN-TE integration into the solar cells yielded remarkable power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) measuring 9.05% when exposed to direct illumination and 6.54% under alternate lighting conditions from various angles. Furthermore, these cells exhibit a high bifaciality factor of 72%, demonstrating their effectiveness at harnessing light no matter which direction it originates from.
Exceptional Durability and Versatile Applications
Notably, these bifacial constructions demonstrated impressive resilience; they retained 80% efficiency over more than 1,000 hours even without protective encapsulation methods typically employed in conventional designs. Their ability to transmit substantial near-infrared radiation opens up numerous applications ranging from thermal glass coatings to optoelectronic systems.
The thin design aspect of the NAN-TE—spanning less than 40 nanometers—further emphasizes its suitability not only for building material integrations but also within tandem solar technologies aimed at maximizing energy output across various platforms such as agrivoltaics and automotive sectors.
Dhriti Sundar Ghosh, who serves as an associate professor of physics at IIT Dharwad and is one of the principal authors noted: “This research may serve as a foundational design approach for TEs intended for incorporation within bifacial perovskite structures tailored toward tandem devices.” The ongoing developments signify tremendous promise for enhancing overall performance metrics in solar energy technologies through this novel approach.
Further Reading:
Sonia Rani et al., “Hybrid top transparent electrode for infrared-transparent bifacial perovskite solar cells,” Journal of Photonics for Energy (2025). DOI: 10.1117/1.JPE.15.015501
