According to foreign media reports, the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory will be a new research result published in the journal "Nature Energy", its findings show that scientists have created a conversion efficiency of nearly 50% of the solar cells. This solar cell uses an III-V compound material with a wide range of absorption properties to capture light from specific parts of the solar spectrum through six connection points, and through 140 layers of different III-V compound, materials to improve the performance of the connection points.
It is reported that solar cells made from this material have high efficiency and relatively high manufacturing costs, and are usually used to power satellites. This solar cell with a conversion rate of nearly 50% was measured under concentrated lighting conditions, with a specific conversion efficiency value of 47.1%; however, under sunlight conditions, its conversion efficiency is also as high as 39.2%, which is by far the highest conversion rate of solar This is the highest conversion rate of solar cells to date.
According to sources, the research team has not given up on the further optimization of this material solar cells, the next step is to reduce the resistance barriers to the flow of current inside the cell, in order to improve the conversion efficiency, so that its conversion efficiency can reach more than 50% under concentrated lighting conditions.
In another study, researchers from the Helmholtz Center in Berlin have broken another solar cell conversion efficiency record, according to media reports. The solar cell material they developed has two different types of photosensitive layer cell composition, one layer is calcium titanite, and the other layer is a mixture of copper indium gallium selenide, or CIGS.
The thickness of this CIGS layer is 3-4 microns, and the thickness of the calcium titanate layer covering the surface layer is only 0.5 microns, with the calcium titanite collecting visible light and the CIGS collecting infrared light. The peak conversion efficiency of this solar cell reaches 24.16%, which is lower than the 47.1% mentioned above, but it is lower in terms of cost because it uses CIGS material, and it is easier to produce flexible solar modules due to the thinner thickness, which is not only suitable for use in space but will also enter daily life with lower cost and wider use scenarios in the future.
