Small steps for electrons – big steps for the solar cells of the future?

Novel measurement method helps to improve perovskite solar cells in a targeted manner

19-Jul-2024 - Physicists at the University of Regensburg and the University of Oxford are using an ultrafast microscope to reveal how electrons move in a new type of solar cell material. The results provide insights into how the material can be used even more efficiently for photovoltaics. In the search for ...

AI for perovskite solar cells: Key to better manufacturing

Artificial Intelligence methods guide researchers in developing improved manufacturing processes for highly efficient solar cells – a blueprint for other research areas

24-Nov-2023 - Perovskite tandem solar cells combine a perovskite solar cell with a conventional solar cell, for example based on silicon. These cells are considered a next-generation technology: They boast an efficiency of currently more than 33 percent, which is much higher than that of conventional silicon ...

Photon Recycling – the Key to High-Efficiency Perovskite Solar Cells

Additional light emission is achieved by recursively recycling trapped photons in perovskites

17-Jan-2022 - Scientists from TU Dresden, in cooperation with researchers at Seoul National University (SNU) and Korea University (KU), demonstrated the role of the re-use of photons (known as ‘photon recycling’) and light scattering effects in perovskite solar cells, providing a pathway towards ...

Perovskite solar cell with ultra-long stability

Success through high throughput

21-Dec-2021 - Perovskites are the great hope for further increasing the efficiency of solar modules in the future. Until now, their short service life has been considered the biggest hurdle to their practical use, but this could soon change. In the current issue of the journal Nature Energy, researchers from ...

The perfect recipe for efficient perovskite solar cells

23-Feb-2021 - A long-cherished dream of materials researchers is a solar cell that converts sunlight into electrical energy as efficiently as silicon, but that can be easily and inexpensively fabricated from abundant materials. Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin have now come a step closer to achieving ...

How charges move in solar cells

An understanding of microscopic processes in perovskite solar cells can lead to increased efficiency

22-Sep-2020 - When the sun rises, a complex dance begins in perovskite solar cells - a type of solar cell that can supplement or replace existing silicon solar cells in the future: Electrons are supplied with energy by light and move. Where electrons move, they leave holes. At the same time, ions move around ...

Microscopic structures could further improve perovskite solar cells

Electrons in the fast lane

06-Jul-2020 - Solar cells based on perovskite compounds could soon make electricity generation from sunlight even more efficient and cheaper. The laboratory efficiency of these perovskite solar cells already exceeds that of the well-known silicon solar cells. An international team led by Stefan Weber from the ...

On the road to non-toxic and stable perovskite solar cells

Tin instead of lead

13-May-2020 - The promising halide perovskite materials for solar energy conversion show high efficiencies, but this comes at a cost: The best perovskite materials incorporate toxic lead which poses a hazard to the environment. To replace lead by less toxic elements is not easy since lead-free perovskites show ...

Inorganic perovskite absorbers for use in thin-film solar cells

29-Apr-2019 - A team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has succeeded in producing inorganic perovskite thin films at moderate temperatures using co-evaporation – making post-tempering at high temperatures unnecessary. The process makes it much easier to produce thin-film solar cells from this material. In ...

Molecules that self-assemble into monolayers for efficient perovskite solar cells

28-Nov-2018 - A team at the HZB has discovered a new method for producing efficient contact layers in perovskite solar cells. It is based on molecules that organise themselves into a monolayer. In recent years, solar cells based on metal halide perovskites have achieved an exceptional increase in efficiency. ...