Researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg achieved an increase in the photovoltaic effect of ferroelectric crystals by a factor of 10 by creating crystalline layers of barium titanate, strontium titanate and calcium titanate, which they alternately placed on top of one another.
Currently most PV cells are silicon-based which mean their efficiency is limited.
Ferroelectric crystals do not require a pn junction to create the PV effect, in other words no positively and negatively doped layers. This makes it much easier to produce solar panels.
This research, published in the journal Science Advances, could significantly increase the efficiency of solar photovoltaic cells.