Optical crystal thin-film solar cell model
Adds Solar newcomer's first family of optical crystal thin film solar cell model appeared
Materials Research Society in the United States at the recent annual meeting, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor showing the latest open Merriam successfully developed a new type of solar cell model, the new model of the original thin-film solar cells made structural improvements, making the battery The absorption of sunlight to stay longer, thus greatly improving the efficiency of solar energy into electricity.
Potential application of thin film solar cells
The earliest use of solar cells are solar photovoltaic cells, can be traced back to 1954, was invented by Bell Labs, was motivated by research area I hope to give Pianyuan provide energy supply system, when only the solar cell efficiency 6%. Then, in 1957 the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, has been to the U.S. astronauts landed on the moon in 1969, the application of solar photovoltaic cells can be said to have been fully realized. 94% of the global solar photovoltaic cells are manufactured using silicon.
Since the last century, 80 years, solar cell researchers began to study to replace the silicon thin film solar cell manufacturing technology, and make great progress. As thin film solar cells using soft plastics and other lightweight materials for the substrate, with a soft portable, durable, photoelectric conversion efficiency is high, so people look forward to it very practical and can be widely used in consumer electronics, remote monitoring / communication military, outdoor / indoor power supply and other fields. Experts believe that the next 5 years, thin film solar cells will substantially reduce costs, when this thin film solar cells will be widely used in watches, calculators, curtains and even clothes.
As the thickness of conventional solar cells close to 200 microns, more materials, and thin film solar cells are only a few microns thick, so the price has a greater competitive advantage. However, the current thin-film solar cell conversion efficiency is lower, mainly due to the infrared photons are substances such as sunlight, in the films stay long enough to be more absorbed. Therefore, as scientists have overcome this difficulty.
Grating structure designed to enhance the performance of 15%
Merriam Professor of open thin film solar cells developed only 5 microns thick, and their design principles is that the battery in the back of the new high efficiency coating material on the reflection, and coated on the front does not reflex coating, so that battery can absorb more red light and infrared light and convert them into electrical energy. Designed by such a transformation of thin film solar cells than the current commercial thin-film solar cell efficiency increased by 15%. Professor Merriam opened by computer simulations show that the conversion efficiency of this new type of battery and 35% increase in space.
Now common on the back of thin film solar cells are coated with a layer of metal, usually aluminum, but the metal surface of each reflector to lose about 30% of sunlight. Er, Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers did not use a metal surface, but the grassroots level in the silicon engraved Aocao and raised, so that the surface of grating, and then coated with a layer on the surface characteristics of a photonic crystal, that is, from silicon and two composed of alternating layers of silicon oxide structure.
The crystal structure of the optical reflecting sunlight, the grating to receive these reflected light and at a lower angle of the reflected light of these re-reflected back to the primary silicon, the reflected light is not lost, but be reflected back again to extend the light residence time within the battery, the battery will also be able to absorb more solar energy, solar energy will be converted into electricity more. The researchers are continuing to optimize the optical crystal and the grating structure to further enhance this thin film solar cell conversion efficiency.
Technical problems and competitors
The new optical thin film solar cells is still not put into practical use. Main obstacle, the researchers are currently using raster engraving technology is the interference lithography technology, which is costly. In addition, the reflecting surface of the alternating layers also needs a hand-plated, time-consuming and labor, and now researchers need to develop new technologies to enable more large-scale production and to lower prices of new potential for this application solar cells. Professor Merriam is currently considering opening nano-copy replacement interference lithography technique.
Merriam Professor of opening the industry has been positive, but also encountered some competitors. U.S. company to improve the absorption thin film solar cell efficiency, the silicon surface coated with nano-scale grass-roots rugged rough structure, so that the battery in addition to the infrared absorption, but also can absorb all the visible light, but the potential of solar energy conversion efficiency of the current has not been proven.
In addition, Ames Laboratory of the United States is also developing optical crystal thin film solar cells, only amorphous silicon, they used to replace indium tin oxide layer of silicon grass-roots level, and indium tin oxide layer, engraved with many small columns composed of silica matrix. But their solar cell conversion efficiency can only be increased by 15%, the only advantage is the battery is only 0.5 microns, which supplies less, the price is cheaper.
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