Scientists achieve record efficiency for ultra-thin solar panels
Date:
March 29, 2022
Source:
University of Surrey
Summary:
A team has successfully increased the levels of energy absorbed
by wafer- thin photovoltaic panels by 25%. Their solar panels,
just one micrometer thick, convert light into electricity more
efficiently than others as thin and pave the way to make it easier
to general more clean, green energy.
FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A team co-led team by the University of Surrey has successfully increased
the levels of energy absorbed by wafer-thin photovoltaic panels by
25%. Their solar panels, just one micrometre thick (1mm), convert light
into electricity more efficiently than others as thin and pave the way
to make it easier to general more clean, green energy.
==========================================================================
In a paper published in the American Chemical Society's Photonics journal,
the team detail how they used characteristics of sunlight to design a disordered honeycomb layer which lies on top of a wafer of silicon. Their approach is echoed in nature in the design of butterfly wings and bird
eyes. The innovative honeycomb design enables light absorption from any
angle and traps light inside the solar cell, enabling more energy to
be generated.
Dr Marian Florescu from the University of Surrey's Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) said, "One of the challenges of working with silicon
is that nearly a third of light bounces straight off it without being
absorbed and the energy harnessed. A textured layer across the silicon
helps tackle this and our disordered, yet hyperuniform, honeycomb
design is particularly successful." The team of researchers from the University of Surrey and Imperial College London worked with experimental collaborators at AMOLF in Amsterdam to design, model and create the new ultra-thin photovoltaic.
In the laboratory, they achieved absorption rates of 26.3 mA/cm2, a 25% increase on the previous record of 19.72 mA/cm2 achieved in 2017. They
secured an efficiency of 21% but anticipate that further improvements will
push the figure higher, resulting in efficiencies that are significantly
better than many commercially available photovoltaics.
Dr Florescu continued, "There's enormous potential for using ultra-thin photovoltaics. For example, given how light they are, they will
be particularly useful in space and could make new extra-terrestrial
projects viable. Since they use so much less silicon, we are hoping
there will be cost savings here on Earth as well, plus there could be
potential to bring more benefits from the Internet of Things and to
create zero-energy buildings powered locally." As well as benefiting
solar power generation, the findings could also benefit other industries
where light management and surface engineering are crucial, for example, photo-electrochemistry, solid-state light emission and photodetectors.
Next steps for the team will include investigating commercial partners
and developing manufacturing techniques.
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Surrey. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Nasim Tavakoli, Richard Spalding, Alexander Lambertz, Pepijn
Koppejan,
Georgios Gkantzounis, Chenglong Wan, Ruslan Ro"hrich, Evgenia
Kontoleta, A. Femius Koenderink, Riccardo Sapienza, Marian Florescu,
Esther Alarcon- Llado. Over 65% Sunlight Absorption in a 1 mm
Si Slab with Hyperuniform Texture. ACS Photonics, 2022; DOI:
10.1021/acsphotonics.1c01668 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220329114735.htm
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