Improving the efficiency of solar cells can make a huge difference in the amount of energy produced from the same area and the same amount of sunlight, and another world record has been set in the drive for better yields.
Researchers in the Perovskite / Silicon tantem solar cell segment now have an efficiency of 29.15 percent, making it one of the most diverse types of cells. Various technologies are currently in use to convert solar energy into electricity.
For this type of panel, a long-term goal of more than 30 percent is now achievable. There are more recent laboratory tests than the maximum 28 percent efficiency managed by Perovskite / Silicon cells at this stage.
Layers of tandem solar cell. (Eig Kohnen / HZB)
“Tandem solar cells that bind silicon to a metal halide perovskite are a good way to break the single-cell performance limit,” the researchers wrote in their published study. “We report a monolithic Perovskite / silicon tandem with a certified electrical conversion efficiency of 29.15%.”
Perovskite and silicon have been developed separately as semiconductor materials for solar panel use: silicon cells have long been present and are currently the standard in solar farms around the world.
Perovskite is a new challenge that scientists believe could eventually lead to silicon eclipses.
That’s why scientists have long been adding different peroxide compounds and other substances – silicon, in this case. The so-called tandem cells use two semiconductors that can capture two different parts of the light spectrum, transcending infrared light (captured by silicon) and captured by light (captured by perovskite compounds).
Even more good news is that combining perovskite and silicon does not significantly add to the cost of creating the panels. It is important to reduce the price to get solar technology quickly and easily.
In this new research, a 29.15 percent performance record was managed with a 1 cm x 1 cm (0.4 inch x 0.4 inch) panel, so some intensive scaling will be required. However the committee says it should be possible. After 300 hours of simulated use, the tandem cell retains 95 percent of its original performance, which is another promising sign.
The new record was actually first announced earlier this year, although a co-review paper describing this achievement has now been released. Scientists used specially modified layer compounds to attach the layer to the electrode and hold the two types of cells together.
This is another moment to celebrate, but scientists have not stopped: previous research suggests that solar cell technology could achieve performance rates of more than 30 percent, and that the group “is already debating the initial ideas for this.”
Research has been published Science.