Improving the efficiency of solar cells can make a big difference in the amount of energy from the same surface area and the same amount of sunshine, and has beaten another world record in the pressure to produce more.
Researchers have now reached 29.15 percent efficiency in the Perovskite / silicon tandem solar cell category, just one of many different types of cells. A variety of technologies are currently used to convert solar energy into electricity.
For this type of panel, long-term targets of more than 30 percent are now tantalizingly within reach. The latest lab tests are ahead of the maximum 28 percent efficiency that Perovskite / Silicon cells have operated up to this point.
Layers of tandem solar cells. (Ike Kahnen / HZB)
The researchers wrote in their published paper that “combining silicon with metal hyalide perovskite, tandem solar cells is a promising option to exceed the limits of single-cell efficiency.” “We report a monolithic paroscope / silicone tandem with a certified power conversion efficiency of 29.15 percent.”
Perovskite and silicon have actually been developed separately as semiconductor materials for the use of solar panels: silicon cells are long gone, and are currently standard in solar farms around the world.
Perovskite is a new challenge and is about to come, which scientists think could eventually absorb silicon in terms of usability.
That’s why scientists have long been adding in this case various parasitic compounds and other materials – silicone. The so-called tandem cell uses two semiconductors that can capture two different parts of the light spectrum, extending beyond infrared light (captured by silicon) even in visible light (captured by paroscope compounds).
The good news is that putting paroskit and silicone together does not significantly increase the cost of making panels. It is important to keep prices down to advance solar technology as quickly as possible.
In this new research, 29 cm. x 1 cm. (0.4 inches x 0.4 inches) The panel operated a record of 29.15 percent efficiency, so some serious scaling will be required. The team says it should be possible. After hours of simulated use, the tandem cell retained one percent of its original efficiency, which is another promising sign.
Although the new record was first reported earlier this year, Pierre’s reviewed paper has only recently been published. Scientists used a special tweak layer composition to connect electrode layers and hold two new types of cells together, to reach their new record.
It’s another moment to celebrate, but scientists haven’t stopped: previous research suggests that scheduled solar cell technology should be able to reach efficiency rates above 30 percent, and the team says “initial ideas for this are already under discussion.”
Research has been published in Science.
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