Researchers claim to use Few layers of very thin ferroelectric crystals Can significantly improve the efficiency of ferroelectric solar cells. But don’t pull the panel off the roof. Traditional batteries are still much more efficient than ferroelectric devices-at least for now.
Unlike traditional silicon-based solar cells, ferroelectric cells do not rely on PN junctions, and—in theory—can be cheaper and easier to produce. However, they generally do not absorb as much sunlight as other materials.
When exposed to sunlight, barium titanate alone produces some current, but it is far less efficient than modern silicon solar cells. However, when the researchers fabricated a 200-nanometer-thick film “sandwich” made of barium titanate between the strontium titanate and calcium titanate layers, the output current doubled. The resulting batteries are still not on par with commercial silicon batteries, but they are much closer.
This work was done at the Martin Luther University Haller Wittenberg University in Germany. If you search, they seem to have done a lot of work on ferroelectric materials such as barium titanate.
If you want to roll your own panel, this material may be a bit difficult to rebuild. However, you may find some inspiration when looking at other thin-film batteries.