Institute of High Pressure Physics

We are happy to share that National Science Center (NCN) awarded SONATA bis project on InGaN-perovskite tandem solar cells to prof. Julita Smalc-Koziorowska from our Institute.

Sonata BIS project "Construction and optimization of nitride and tandem nitride-perovskite solar cells" will be carried out in collaboration between the Institute of High Pressure Physics PAS and the Institute of Physical Chemistry PAS. The project is led by Prof. Julita Smalc-Koziorowska (IHPP PAS), while the group at the Institute of Physical Chemistry PAS involved in the project is headed by Prof. Daniel Prochowicz.

The project addresses the growing demand for clean energy and the need to develop photovoltaic technologies with higher efficiency than conventional silicon solar cells. One of the most promising approaches is tandem solar cells, which combine materials with different bandgaps to utilize the solar spectrum more efficiently.

The Sonata BIS project will focus on combining two particularly promising materials:

• InGaN – a semiconductor with a tunable bandgap, high stability, and a high light absorption coefficient.
• Halide perovskites – materials with excellent optoelectronic properties that already achieve over 25% power conversion efficiency.

Main objectives of the project:

• development and optimization of InGaN pseudosubstrates with high indium content,
• construction and testing of solar cells based on InGaN,
• demonstration of InGaN–perovskite tandem solar cells that may overcome the limitations of conventional photovoltaic architectures.

The project addresses key material challenges—such as crystal defects and limitations in the growth of InGaN layers—and has the potential to make an important contribution to the development of photovoltaics and III–V optoelectronics.

The goal is not only to improve the efficiency of solar cells, but also to expand fundamental knowledge about nitride semiconductors and hybrid photovoltaic structures. Popularscience abstract.