Toward Stable Monolithic Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Photovoltaics: A Six-Month Outdoor Performance Study in a Hot and Humid Climate

Perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells are emerging as a high-efficiency and prospectively cost-effective solar technology with great promise for deployment at the utility scale. However, despite the remarkable performance progress reported lately, assuring sufficient device stability—particularly of the perovskite top cell—remains a challenge on the path to practical impact. In this work, we analyze the outdoor performance of encapsulated bifacial perovskite/silicon tandems, by carrying out field-testing in Saudi Arabia. Over a six month experiment, we find that the open circuit voltage retains its initial value, whereas the fill factor degrades, which is found to have two causes. A first degradation mechanism is linked with ion migration in the perovskite and is largely reversible overnight, though it does induce hysteretic behavior over time. A second, irreversible, mechanism is caused by corrosion of the silver metal top contact with the formation of silver iodide. These findings provide directions for the design of new and more stable perovskite/silicon tandems.