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A research team from Tokyo City University in Japan has reported a new world record for power conversion efficiency in a tandem solar cell, according to information published by pv magazine on May 18, 2026.
The device combines a top perovskite cell with a bottom cell based on copper, indium, gallium, and selenium (CIGS). It features a two-terminal configuration with an active area of one square centimeter and achieved a certified efficiency of 25.14 percent. The result was verified by Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).
The previous record of 24.6 percent was set by German research institute HZB in February 2025. The Japanese team noted that while improvement research had been conducted globally since then, the 25 percent threshold had remained unbroken until now.
The scientists explained that the tandem cell relies on a bottom CIGS device developed by AIST and a top perovskite cell featuring an improved perovskite absorber with higher crystallinity. This enhancement was made possible by a new barrier layer placed between the two cells. The layer provides a more suitable growth surface, reduces interfacial recombination losses that would otherwise lower efficiency, and prevents unwanted chemical reactions between the CIGS layer and perovskite precursors.
The top cell was constructed using an indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate, a self-assembled monolayer known as MeO-2PACz, the perovskite absorber, an electron transport layer made of buckminsterfullerene (C60) and a tin dioxide layer deposited via atomic layer deposition, another ITO layer, an antireflective coating of magnesium fluoride, and a silver metal contact. The CIGS cell was built on a soda-lime glass substrate with a molybdenum back contact, a CIGS absorber, a cadmium sulfide buffer layer, and a zinc oxide window layer.
Under standard illumination conditions, the tandem cell recorded an open-circuit voltage of 1.845 volts, a short-circuit current density of 16.25 milliamps per square centimeter, and a fill factor of 83.5 percent. The researchers indicated that further efficiency gains could be expected by optimizing the cell configuration to improve the short-circuit current. They also plan to accelerate research and development toward practical application by improving additives and passivation technology. No further technical details of the new cell design have been disclosed.
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