Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have found that it may be possible to boost energy conversion rates perovskite-based solar modules by as much as 40%.

Using an atomic microscope, the researchers observed multifaceted surfaces in perovskite solar cells. Some of the grains, which were about 200 microns in width, had sharply formed multi-angled facets, while others were poorly formed. The poorly formed facets had energy conversion efficiencies approaching 31%, which beats today's most optimistic photovoltaic efficiency rates of around 22%.