Researchers have achieved a 99.3% geometrical fill factor in inverted perovskite solar modules with active areas of 4.0 cm2, a significant step toward commercial viability for the emerging photovoltaic technology. The findings, published November 21, 2025, in Nature, detail a laser scribing process that minimizes dead area within the modules.
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have garnered attention for their potential to deliver high efficiency at a lower cost than traditional silicon-based cells. However, scaling up production has presented challenges. Conventional PSCs, with their layered structure of electron and hole transport layers surrounding the perovskite absorber, have faced limitations in both large-scale manufacturing and long-term stability. Inverted PSCs, which reverse the order of these layers, offer a promising alternative, exhibiting high power conversion potential and compatibility with solution processing techniques suitable for mass production.
The research team focused on optimizing the interconnection of subcells within perovskite solar modules, utilizing a P1, P2, and P3 laser scribing process to reduce energy loss. A standard nanosecond pulse UV laser was employed, but the key innovation lay in the precision of the scribes. By using a single 45 µm laser line for each scribe, the researchers dramatically reduced the non-active area of the module.
This reduction in dead area directly translated to the exceptionally high geometrical fill factors (GFFs) achieved. Alongside the 99.3% GFF in the 4.0 cm2 modules, a GFF of 98.8% was recorded in larger 10.8 cm2 modules. According to the study, this represents the first successful demonstration of a single nanosecond laser source for continuous P1-P2-P3 scribing, resulting in a dead area as low as 0.7% in the 4 cm2 module.
Advances in inverted perovskite solar cells are also being explored in tandem solar cell configurations, including perovskite-silicon, all-perovskite, and perovskite-organic combinations, according to recent research. These tandem structures aim to further enhance efficiency by capturing a broader spectrum of sunlight.
Further research published February 20, 2026, in Advances in inverted perovskite solar cells, focuses on regulating perovskite crystallization kinetics at laser scribe lines to improve module efficiency and stability.
