Absorber Layer Research Articles

Performance optimization of ETL-free bifacial perovskite solar cells for flexible devices: A simulation study

The versatile applications of flexible perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have made them promising energy-harvesting devices in our daily lives. The electron transport layer (ETL)-free PSCs offer a flexible approach for harnessing energy while adding a bifacial approach that can further improve the device performance. In our study, we have optimized ETL-free bifacial PSCs via simulation by selecting the suitable front transparent electrode (FTE), hole transport layer (HTL), and rear transparent electrode (RTE). Our investigation reveals that a potential well-like structure, associated with a small conduction band offset (CBO) at the FTE/perovskite interface holds significant potential for enhancing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the device. The upward shift in the valance band of HTL promotes recombination and reduces the device performance. The bandgap and electron affinity of RTE highly influence the band alignment at HTL/RTE interface. The NiO/Ag/NiO (NAN) tri-layer RTE provides a better band alignment with HTL, and improves the charge transportation and, hence, the device performance. Moreover, the thickness of the interfacial defect layer at the FTE/perovskite and perovskite/HTL interfaces significantly impacts device performance. In optimizing the perovskite absorber layer, a perovskite bandgap of 1.4 eV shows maximum device performance. Our optimized device shows a remarkable PCE of >27% for both front and rear illumination.

Enhancing efficiency of Sb2Se3 solar cell through optimized optical and electrical properties with Bi-layer absorber

In this study, an innovative solar cell utilizing antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) as a base material and incorporating a dual absorber layer is comprehensively examined using the Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS-1D) tool. The aim is to assess the performance of the solar cell with different absorber layers in combination with Sb2Se3. Results demonstrate that the solar cell employing an organic CH3NH3SnI3 absorber layer alongside Sb2Se3 achieves superior efficiency compared to one with an inorganic CZTS absorber layer. The two absorber layers investigated are the inorganic Copper Zinc Tin Sulfide (CZTS) and the organic methylammonium tin iodide (CH3NH3SnI3 The dual absorber layer configuration proves advantageous by enhancing light absorption. The solar cell architecture comprises ZnO/i-ZnO/Sb2Se3/CZTS or CH3NH3SnI3/NiO layers, resulting in an improved efficiency of up to 36.70%. Throughout the analysis, parameters such as concentration, band gap, thickness, and temperature are systematically adjusted to evaluate the behavior of this unique solar cell structure. The findings from the study indicate a noticeable enhancement in the performance of Sb2Se3 solar cells when employing the bilayer absorber structure comprising Sb2Se3 and CH3NH3SnI3.

Enhanced efficiency of bifacial perovskite solar cells using computational study

The most rapidly expanding type of solar cells are the Perovskite Solar Cells (PSCs), because of its high device performance, ease of synthesis, high open-circuit voltage, and affordability. Despite these advantages, the development of perovskite-based solar cells continues to be impeded by the issues with perovskite stability and the utilization of the hazardous heavy element lead (Pb). The study emphasizes on the bifacial structure that maintains the conventional absorber layer and electron transport layer (ETL) in the optimized PSC structure. This study employs SCAPS software for device simulation to comprehensively analyze how various parameters affect the performance of solar cells. Additionally, doping concentration variation in both ETL and HTL are explored. The simulation reveals that changing device structure from monofacial to bifacial significantly influences PSC performance, demonstrating that optimizing individual layers effectively enhances overall solar cell performance. The optimized structure achieves impressive PSC performance metrics through parametric analysis, such as voltage (VOC) of 1.18 V, fill factor (FF) of 82.24%, current density (JSC) of 27.12 mA/cm2, power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 27.90% for an incident solar spectrum from the ETL side, and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.86% for an incident solar spectrum from the HTL side, the calculated bifaciality factor (BF) for this structure is 71.18%.

Numerical Study of Graded CZT (S, Se) Solar Cell with 2D Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Tungsten Disulfide (WS2) as a Buffer Layer

Recently, there has been a surge of research interest in exploring solar cells based on Cu2ZnSn(S, Se)4 (CZTSSe) for enhanced efficiencies. Traditionally, CdS has served as the buffer layer in these solar cells. However, there is growing scientific exploration aimed at replacing CdS with alternative materials. This work focuses on leveraging a graded CZTSSe absorber layer alongside tungsten disulfide (WS2) 2D transition metal dichalcogenides. WS2 semiconductor as buffer layer is less price, low toxicity with high‐stability, and its performance is compared to that of CdS/CZTSSe solar cells. This comparative study aims to assess the efficacy of the WS2/CZTSSe structure as a potential alternative to the conventional CdS/CZTSSe configuration, with the overarching objective of enhancing overall solar cell efficiency. Initially, to demonstrate the accuracy of our simulated results, a comparison is made between the reported experimental data of CdS/CZTSSe and the simulated data. This numerical investigation utilizes solar cell capacitance simulator ‐1D software. The primary focus of this research is to evaluate the effects of varying thicknesses and doping densities of the absorber and buffer layers, as well as WS2, CdS, and CZTSSe defect densities, on Voc, Jsc, fill factor (FF), and power conversion efficiency. The aim is to achieve optimal device performance through systematic optimization of these parameters. The findings reveal that the WS2/CZTSSe solar cell achieves the highest conversion efficiency of 14.38%, accompanied by a Voc of 0.6920 V, Jsc of 24.96 mA cm−2, and FF of 83.28%. This performance surpasses that of the CdS/CZTSSe configuration, which demonstrates an efficiency of 12.74%, Voc of 0.518 V, Jsc of 37.77 mA cm−2, and FF of 65.10%. These results hold significant promise for the practical implementation of WS2/CZTSSe solar cell structures, offering a pathway toward generating clean, pollution‐free, and cost‐effective energy solutions.

Insights into the structural and optical properties of (Cu,Ag)2ZnSnSe4 thin films: Role of pre-annealing and selenization times

The present study investigates the properties of Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe) absorber layers with silver substitution, scrutinizing how their characteristics improve by varying the pre-annealing and selenization times. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirms the presence of tetragonal structured (Cu,Ag)2ZnSnSe4 (CAZTSe) thin films and reveals a peak shift towards lower angles, indicating silver substitution in place of copper within the kesterite lattice. Raman peaks observed at 195 cm−1, 172 cm−1, and 233 cm−1 further support these findings. Particularly, the CAZTSe thin film subjected to a 30-min pre-annealing at 275 °C, followed by a 2-min selenization at 450 °C, exhibits a compact surface morphology. Additionally, Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analysis demonstrates a uniform elemental profile throughout the depth of the film. The optical analysis reveals variations in transmittance (T%), reflectance (R%), extinction coefficient (k), and refractive index (n) over a wavelength range of 400–2000 nm. The described CAZTSe thin film possesses a band gap of 1.06 eV. Furthermore, the electrical analysis reveals the highest carrier concentration of 1.12 × 1016 cm−3, a maximum mobility of 260 cm2/(Vs)−1, and the lowest resistivity of 2.15 Ωcm among these CAZTSe thin films.

Alkali Metal Pretreatment for Precise Na Doping and Voc Improvement in CIGS Thin-Film Solar Cells.

The pretreatment of the Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) absorption layer using an alkali element can effectively improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of CIGS solar cells. Here, we propose using NaF layer pretreatment below the CIGS absorption layer deposited by a three-stage process. Sodium ions in NaF can effectively suppress the diffusion of Ga elements and form a steep gradient backscatter layer on the back of the CIGS absorption layer, thereby passivating solar cell defects, inhibiting carrier recombination, promoting carrier transmission and collection, improving open circuit voltage (VOC), short circuit current (Jsc), and filling factor (FF), and further improving the PCE.

Characterisation of Sn-Cl co-doped β-Ga2O3 thin films deposited via spray pyrolysis and their application in UV detector devices

Ga2O3, an ultrawide bandgap semiconducting oxide, is currently emerging as a promising candidate for various applications, such as power devices, solar-blind UV detectors, high temperature oxygen sensors and biomedical imaging. One significant limitation hindering the application of Ga2O3 as a wide-bandgap semiconductor is its poor conductivity. In this work, we investigate whether doping with tin and chlorine can mitigate this condition. Sn-Cl co-doped β-Ga2O3 thin films are deposited on glass substrates using spray pyrolysis technique. The deposited films are subjected to comprehensive analysis, including structural, optical and morphological measurements using techniques like X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and EDX studies. Electrical properties are assessed using the four-probe method and Hall measurements. The best conductivity of 8.86 Ω−1m−1 is observed when 8.68 at% of Sn and 3.37 at% of Cl were co-doped into Ga2O3 (S(3)) and its optical band gap is calculated to be 4.65 eV. This is about five orders of improvement in conductivity as compared to that of pure Ga2O3 thin film deposited by the same method. Furthermore, we have constructed a deep UV detector utilizing doped β-Ga2O3 thin films as the semiconducting absorbing layer. The detector demonstrated the highest responsivity of 2.54 × 10−4 A/W at 260 nm and the corresponding specific detectivity is 1.4 × 109 Jones. The current research validates the potential of Sn-Cl co-doped β-Ga2O3 thin film as an excellent choice for UV detector application.

Current status of Pb-free PSCs and infer the highest achievable PCE via numerical modeling, and optimization of novel structure FAMASnGeI3 based PSCs

In this study, we have extensively investigated an eco-friendly perovskite-based solar cell via a theoretical approach and numerical simulation. For that purpose, firstly, we have conducted a brief literature review to decipher the status of Pb-free perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The literature review reflects that the research on Pb-free PSCs is going on with immense interest. By acquiring inspiration from the literature review, we have designed a Pb-free hybrid PSC with a structure of FTO/CdS/FAMASnGeI3/NiO/Ag utilizing SCAPS-1D software. The structure has been optimized by fine-tuning the thickness, and defect density of the light-absorbing layer and the thickness, donor density, and band gap of ETL. The optimized structure of Pb-free perovskite material displays promising results with PCE of 30.05 %, Voc of 0.964 V, fill factor of 82.35%, and current density of 27.77 mA cm−2. In addition, we have also found that the temperature and light intensity play a crucial role in the performance of the proposed PSC. We have found quantum efficiency as high as 98% for 360 nm thickness of the perovskite absorber layer. Finally, from the dark J–V analysis, lower current density (6.73×10−8 mA cm−2), less series resistance (2.8×10−5 Ωcm2) as well as high shunt resistance (11412.67 Ωcm2) were witnessed, which is expectable for a promising solar cell. Our inclusive exploration unveiled the fact that the suggested novel architecture (FTO/CdS/FAMASnGeI3/NiO/Ag) can be considered an exceptional design for PSCs with greater efficiency and practical suitability.

High-efficiency electromagnetic shielding of three-dimensional laminated Wood/Cu/Ni composites

Construction of ideal dissipation path for layered electromagnetic shielding materials (EMSM) is promising but challenging. Herein, high-efficiency EMSM of three-dimensional hydrophobic wood/Cu/Ni laminated composites have been constructed to achieve laminated composites with high electromagnetic shielding efficiency and low reflection. The electromagnetic gradient structures are obtained via different Cu and Ni deposition times, where the slightly magnetic top Ni coatings serves as electromagnetic (EM) absorption layer and the highly conductive Cu coatings as reflection layer. The hierarchical porous wood structure could extend the EM dissipation path and dissipate EM by multiple reflections. Therefore, the laminated structure exhibits an excellent EM shielding efficiency (average 91.6 dB) at only 0.45 mm thickness between 8.2 GHz and 12.4 GHz in frequency. In addition, the contact angle of laminated composites was 117.8° and the Joule heating was nearly to 0, which broaden their application scenarios in practice. Furthermore, the multilayer Cu/Ni wood-based composites with sandwich-structured can be used as EM shielding gaskets and effectively block wireless power transmission and high frequency EM signal, which shows a prosperous application prospect in defense industry and aerospace.

Preparation of CuSe nanoparticles by antisolvent process for doping and passivation of absorber layer in CdTe solar cells

The p-type doping and passivation of the back surface of the CdTe absorber layer are two key steps to enhance the performance of CdTe thin film solar cells. In recent years, different Cu-doped precursors (Cu (I) and Cu (II) materials) and passivation materials (elements such as Se, Cl, Al, etc.) have been investigated. However, few researchers have proposed in new materials on both doping and passivation functions for backside applications. Here, CuSe, which combines the potential of p-type doping and Se passivation functions, is proposed for the first time as a doping precursor for the CdTe absorber layer. A certain amount of CuSe nanoparticles was deposited on the back surface of the CdTe absorber layer based on an antisolvent deposition process. The results show that the optimal device open-circuit voltage of the CuSe-treated CdTe solar cell reaches 842.5 mV, which is ∼ 6.5 % higher than that of the CuCl2-treated CdTe device (791.4 mV). The results of current-voltage and Mott-Schottky, impedance spectrum show that the CuSe-treated CdTe device not only achieves the purpose of p-type doping, but also introduces the passivation function of Se.

Exploring the Bi Layer Approach to Analyzing Lead-Free Perovskite Solar Cells' Numerical Aspects for High Efficiency

In the past decades the metal halide perovskites gained tremendous attention from researchers because of its excellent visible light absorption and promising power conversion efficiencies. But due its toxic nature and concerned ecological hazards it can’t be commercialized on a large scale. So there was a need to introduce a new toxic free alternative. According to this paper a volume lead free perovskite structure is quantitative investigated using SCAPS (1−D) software. A new approach is used in which The lead-free active layer CH3NH3SnI3 is encased in two bilayers of a simultaneous simulation that investigates the hole transport layer (HTL) and electron transport layer (ETL) and fine-tunes their respective thicknesses as well as the absorber layer to attain the best possible performance for the suggested structure. Furthermore, a number of parameters influencing electrical properties were studied statistically, including the effect of different rear connections, temperature changes, doping concentration in the absorber layer, defect states at interfaces, and the overall density of defects. The optimal configuration yielded an open circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.96V, a short circuit current density (Jsc) of 32mA/cm2, a Fill Factor of 82.02, and a power conversion efficiency of 26.09% under standard AM1.5 G conditions.

Designing PEDOT: PSS/Si hybrid solar cells via numerical simulation: optimum selection of the absorber and hole transport layer thickness and defect density

Numerical investigation of PEDOT: PSS/Si heterostructures was carried out using solar cell capacitance simulation (SCAPS 1D) in which experimentally observed absorbance of PEDOT: PSS was incorporated. The defect density of PEDOT: PSS, the defect density of n-Si, and the donor doping density of n-type silicon wafer were investigated based on the optimized absorption coefficient of n-type silicon wafer. The optimized value of PEDOT: PSS thickness, doping density, and the defect density of both PEDOT: PSS and n-Si were determined. The contour colour mapping tool was used to predict the efficiency region of the heterojunction solar cell. 21.2% efficient PEDOT: PSS/n-Si hybrid solar cells resulted after optimizing the parameters.

Tribological and Chemical–Physical Behavior of a Novel Palm Grease Blended with Zinc Oxide and Reduced Graphene Oxide Nano-Additives

The role of industrial lubricants in machinery is to reduce friction and wear between moving components. Due to the United Nations’ tendency to reduce dependency on fossil fuel, a general awareness is strongly driven towards developing more eco-friendly lubricants. Palm oil possesses promising properties, which promote it to be a competitive alternative to the hostile mineral oils. Still, marginal oxidation stability, viscosity, and tribological properties remain critical issues for performance improvement. This paper presents an improved palm grease using reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nano-additives at different concentrations. Oil and grease samples were tested for viscosity, oxidation stability, pour point, penetration, roll stability, dropping point, churned grease-oil release, copper corrosion, friction, and wear. ZnO additives enhanced the oxidation stability by 60% and shifted the pour point to 6 °C. Adding ZnO and rGO to the palm grease increased the load-carrying capacity between 30% and 60%, respectively, and reduced the friction coefficient by up to 60%. From the wear scar morphologies, it is believed that graphene 2D nanoparticles formed absorption layers which contributed to the increase in load-carrying capacity, while ZnO chemically reacted with the metallic surface layer, forming zinc compounds that resulted in a protective boundary lubricating film.

Optimizing the working mechanism of CsPbI3/CsPbBr3 heterojunction solar cells using SCAPS-1D

In recent years, notable progress has been made in the field of perovskite-perovskite junctions, including the effective implementation of a structural assembly engineering technique to enhance the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). A comprehensive investigation of a heterojunction structure consisting of absorber layers composed of CsPbI3 and CsPbBr3 was conducted via the implementation of SCAPS-1D simulation. The motivation for depositing CsPbBr3 onto CsPbI3 is to utilize it as a protective layer that inhibits or mitigates the ongoing degradation of CsPbI3. This study examines the influence of several factors on the performance of absorbers, including absorber thickness, band offset, trap-assisted defect density, working temperature, work function, series and shunt resistance, and doping level. The addition of a CsPbBr3 layer was shown to significantly boost the photovoltaic performance of CsPbI3 PSCs. Furthermore, the functioning of heterojunction PSCs is highly dependent upon the operating temperature and density of defects. The device with the FTO/ZnOS/CsPbI3/CsPbBr3/CZTS configuration demonstrated impressive power conversion efficiency (PCE), open-circuit voltage (VOC), current density voltage (JSC), and fill factor (FF) values of 22.12%, 1.26 V, 20.62 mA/cm2, and 84.86%, respectively. These findings will offer valuable theoretical insights into the enhancement and production of PSCs with improved efficiency and stability.

Carrier transport layer engineering of Cs2TiI2Br4 halide double perovskite solar cell via SCAPS 1D: Approaching the Shockley-Queisser limit

All-inorganic Cs2TiIxBr(6-x)-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are recently attracting a lot of attention for their tunable bandgaps, earth abundance, non-toxicity, and ultra-stability. Among the Cs2TiIxBr(6-x) family of materials, Cs2TiI2Br4 with a bandgap of ∼1.38 eV has the potential to be an excellent single junction solar cell material with a theoretically higher Shockley-Queisser limit of power conversion efficiency (PCE). Its excellent optoelectronic properties make it a potential candidate for being the highest-performing PSC from the Cs2TiIxBr(6-x) family. In our study, a total of eight hole transport materials (P3HT, PTAA, Spiro-OMeTAD, PEDOT:Pss, CuSCN, CuI, NiO, and MoO3) and six electron transport materials (PCBM, TiO2, CdS, SnO2, ZnO, and IGZO) were investigated to select suitable charge transport materials. The defect densities of interface and absorber, different absorber layer thicknesses, several metal work functions, series-shunt resistance, and temperature were investigated to derive the conditions for optimum performance. After thorough investigation, we derived four novel devices with the combination of all the organic and inorganic charge transport materials to provide optimum performance. Among them, the combination of inorganic SnO2 and CuSCN as electron and hole transport layer respectively achieved the highest PCE of 23.41 %.

Improving the Efficiency and Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells by Refining the Perovskite-Electron Transport Layer Interface and Shielding the Absorber from UV Effects.

This study aims to enhance the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) by optimizing the interface between the perovskite and electron transport layers (ETLs). Additionally, we plan to protect the absorber layer from ultraviolet (UV) degradation using a ternary oxide system comprising SnO2, strontium stannate (SrSnO3), and strontium oxide (SrO). In this structure, the SnO2 layer functions as an electron transport layer, SrSnO3 acts as a layer for UV filtration, and SrO is employed to passivate the interface. SrSnO3 is characterized by its chemical stability, electrical conductivity, extensive wide band gap energy, and efficient absorption of UV radiation, all of which significantly enhance the photostability of PSCs against UV radiation. Furthermore, incorporating SrSnO3 into the ETL improves its electronic properties, potentially raising the energy level and improving alignment, thereby enhancing the electron transfer from the perovskite layer to the external circuit. Integrating SrO at the interface between the ETL and perovskite layer reduces interface defects, thereby reducing charge recombination and improving electron transfer. This improvement results in higher solar cell efficiency, reduced hysteresis, and extended device longevity. The benefits of this method are evident in the observed improvements: a noticeable increase in open-circuit voltage (Voc) from 1.12 to 1.16 V, an enhancement in the fill factor from 79.4 to 82.66%, a rise in the short-circuit current density (Jsc) from 24.5 to 24.9 mA/cm2 and notably, a marked improvement in the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of PSCs, from 21.79 to 24.06%. Notably, the treated PSCs showed only a slight decline in PCE, reducing from 24.15 to 22.50% over nearly 2000 h. In contrast, untreated SnO2 perovskite devices experienced a greater decline, with efficiency decreasing from 21.79 to 17.83% in just 580 h.

Ink engineering using 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone solvent for efficient inkjet-printed triple-cationic perovskite solar cells

Ink engineering increases the quality and uniformity of large-scale perovskite films for efficient inkjet-printed perovskite solar cells (IJP-PSCs). The absorber layer in PSCs must be pinhole- and crack-free, highly uniform, with minimum defects, and have better optoelectronic properties, to improve PSC device performance. Herein, a different strategy, such as solvents with high boiling points (BPs), is used to modify the perovskite inks to obtain uniform and better-quality IJP-perovskite films. The perovskite film prepared with a 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMI) solvent is highly uniform (>96 %), thicker, with a smoother surface, and contains bigger grains than γ-butyrolactone (GBL) based IJP-perovskites. The DMI solvent-based IJP-PSC device shows a greater than 17.5 % power conversion efficiency (PCE), which is much higher than that possible with GBL-based devices (PCE ∼13.8 %). The better performance of the IJP-PSC device is mainly due to the film’s uniformity, large grains, and well-formed structures, which reduce the occurrence of specific chemical reactions within the perovskite material. The presented ink engineering strategy to develop highly uniform IJP perovskite films has the potential to be applied to perovskite solar modules.

Chiral-structured heterointerfaces enable durable perovskite solar cells.

Mechanical failure and chemical degradation of device heterointerfaces can strongly influence the long-term stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) under thermal cycling and damp heat conditions. We report chirality-mediated interfaces based on R-/S-methylbenzyl-ammonium between the perovskite absorber and electron-transport layer to create an elastic yet strong heterointerface with increased mechanical reliability. This interface harnesses enantiomer-controlled entropy to enhance tolerance to thermal cycling-induced fatigue and material degradation, and a heterochiral arrangement of organic cations leads to closer packing of benzene rings, which enhances chemical stability and charge transfer. The encapsulated PSCs showed retentions of 92% of power-conversion efficiency under a thermal cycling test (-40°C to 85°C; 200 cycles over 1200 hours) and 92% under a damp heat test (85% relative humidity; 85°C; 600 hours).

Study of Fabrication Process and Performance Analysis of the CDS/CDTE Based Photovoltaic Cell

Fabrication of CDS/CDTE based heterojunction photovoltaic cell has been undertaken to explore better light conversion efficiency. We have developed a photovoltaic cell using glass coated with Indium doped Tin Oxide (ITO) which works as transparent conducting oxide (TCO). ITO coated glass has promising prospects of enhancing the efficiency of the photovoltaic cell. ITO layers are known to be employed as anode terminal due to the negative polarity they possess compared to the whole PV cell; here, we have employed it for the same function as the front layer. During fabrication of the photovoltaic cell, the deposition of nanoparticles of CDS and CDTE layer is undertaken through doctor-blade method. We have employed pure CDS as window layer for its high band gap of 3.8 eV (particle size: 8 nm) and CDTE as absorber layer due to its high optical absorption coefficient with high mobility, good carrier lifetime and enhanced crystallographic properties. The CDS window layer and CDTE absorber layer together constitute a p-n junction where the CDS window layer captures high intensity photons and transmits the photo-excited electron to CDTE absorber layer, thereby leading to photo-current output, which serves as a base to explore and test its further applications. To obtain band gap of respective CDTE and CDS nanoparticles, optical characterization is used. Silver paste is used as rear contact to form anode terminal having good conductivity and providing better mechanical support to the photovoltaic cell.

Enhancement of photoresponse and photovoltaic properties in KBiFe2O5/BiFeO3 bilayer thin films

In this report, the performance of a new photovoltaic device configuration in which bilayer KBiFe2O5 (KBFO)/BiFeO3 (BFO) as absorber materials have been investigated and compared with the single active layer-based devices of BFO and KBFO. The obtained short-circuit current density of 58.81 μAcm−2, open-circuit voltage of 0.65 V, and power conversion efficiency of 0.014 % for the complete photovoltaic device glass/FTO/KBFO/BFO/Ag are comparatively higher than that of glass/FTO/BFO/Ag and glass/FTO/KBFO/Ag devices. It has been observed that the active bilayer KBFO/BFO shows switchable photoresponse with respect to positive and negative polarities. This work may offer the procedures for further optimizing the photo absorber layer, thereby improving the performances of multiferroic-based devices for ferroelectric photovoltaic applications.