Perovskite and silicon solar have always been powerful partners, and German scientists have recently attained a new record of 32% in conversion efficiency of tandem perovskite and silicon solar cells.
Common solar cells are made of silicon, and are most economical pertaining to efficiency, durability, and cost amortization. However, silicon solar cells have reached the ceiling of conversion efficiency, and further increment in power generation, aside from continuous study in new materials, can also depend on collaborations with other cell technology.
Perovskite has risen to a high status among solar materials by elevating from 4% to more than 24% in conversion efficiency within a decade, while the conversion efficiency and durability of perovskite-silicon tandem cells are also much better than cells that adopt a single material owing to how perovskite materials can better absorb blue light, while silicon focuses more on red light and infrared.
The new tandem solar cell recently developed by the Helmholtz Centre for Materials and Energy (HZB) has arrived at a record-breaking conversion efficiency of 32.5%, and is formed with several layers of perovskite and silicon respectively at the top and bottom, with the perovskite layer filtering light of different wavelengths and maximizing in reducing power consumption. The research team is also developing a new interface between the active layer and electrodes that would facilitate an increase in conversion efficiency.
The research accomplishment has been recognized by the European Solar Test Installation and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and managed to surpass the record of 31.25% achieved by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) last year. Bernd Rech, Scientific Director of HZB, commented that the efficiency of 32.5% attained by HZB’s tandem solar cell is something that can only be achieved by the exorbitant III-V semiconductor in the past.
(Photo source: HZB)