Architectural Innovations in Perovskite Solar Cells

Meeting future energy demands with sustainable sources like photovoltaics (PV) presents significant land and logistical challenges, which can be mitigated by improving PV power conversion efficiency (PCE) and decentralized solutions like building-integrated photovoltaics and solar-integrated mobility systems (e.g., Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)). Metal Halide Perovskites Solar Cells (MH-PSCs) provide a transformative, low-cost solution for high-efficiency PV with diverse compositions, exceptional optoelectronic properties, and low-temperature, solution-based processability. Conventionally the MH-PSCs are fabricated in "p-i-n" or "n-i-p" configuration on glass-Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO) substrates. While glass-based Perovskite Solar Cells (PSCs) have achieved remarkable efficiencies, their limited scalability, high areal-weight, and mechanical rigidity greatly limit their usage in wearables electronics, BIPVs, and e-mobility applications. Addressing these challenges requires "targeted architectural innovations" in MH-PSCs, tailored to specific applications, to drive their practical deployment forward. This study reviews four innovative PSC architectures-Interdigitated Back Contact (IBC) PSCs, Lateral Configuration (LC) PSCs, Fiber-Shaped (FS) PSCs, and Substrate-Configuration (SC) PSCs-highlighting their design advancements for enhanced efficiency, flexibility, lightweight, and application-specific integration. Importantly, the review discusses the precise engineering required in each layer of these architectural innovations to ensure compatibility, efficient charge transport, durability, and scalability while optimizing performance, while also identifying key challenges and outlining directions for future R&D.