Lighter flexible tandem solar cells use a new benchmark in efficiency
The Korea Institute of Energy Research (Kier) has achieved an important milestone in solar technology by developing ultra-light and bends tandem solar cells that consist of perovskiet and cigs materials. These flexible solar cells have achieved a record-breaking power conversion efficiency of 23.64 percent, the highest to date for their class.
In contrast to traditional crystalline cells on silicone, which are widely used due to cost efficiency and scalability, the new tandem design uses thin film technologies for improved adaptability. Silicon-perovskite tandems have achieved up to 34.6 percent efficiency, but their weight and vulnerability limit the use of weight-sensitive sectors such as space travel and automobile. To take on these challenges, Kier researchers turned to combine perovskite with copper indium gallium -gallium (CIGS), a semiconductor that is known for its flexibility and suitability for curved surfaces.
CIGS Dunne film solar cells can be manufactured on substrates such as polyimide and metal films, making them ideal for integration into non-flat surfaces. However, these cells have been historically confronted with obstacles in efficiency and production branch. Kier’s innovation is in both its material technology and a new lift-off manufacturing technique.
The team introduced a process in which a glass base is first coated with a polyimide layer. The tandem solar cell is then built on top of this foundation and then detached from the glass, producing a detached, flexible device. This method offers stability during manufacture and improves the uniformity of the low, which improves performance and consistency.
Another breakthrough came from managing alkali metal diffusion. During the manufacture, potassium atoms of the glass substrate can penetrate the CIGS layer, resulting in defects that affect the load mobility. With the help of computational modeling, crack -scientists showed that the polyimid coating effectively suppresses this unwanted diffusion, resulting in less structural errors and better performance.
The highlight of these innovations was a solar cell that not only surpassed the previous efficiency benchmark of 18.1 percent for flexible perovskiet/cigs -dandems but also 97.7 percent of his output maintained after 100,000 bending cycles, which confirmed the mechanical resilience.
“This research is an important achievement that demonstrates the commercial potential of the next generation of very efficient solar cell technology with flexibility and lightness,” said Dr. Inyoung Jeong. “It serves as an important milestone for the realization of ultra -light, flexible solar cells with 30 percent efficiency in the future.”
Dr. Kihwan Kim, lead researcher of the project, added: “The power-to-weight ratio of the manufactured solar cell is approximately 10 times higher than that of perovskiet/silicon tandem solar cells, making it very promising for applications in fields that Ultralight Solar-Modules, like building, as building, like”, spot, spot, spot-modules.
The study, published in the March issue of Joule (Impact Factor: 38.6), was carried out with the support of Kier’s R and D program and in collaboration with Professor Tae Kyung Lee of Gyeongsang National University and Professor Hae-Jin Kim from Yonsei University.
Research report:Flexible and lightweight Perovskiet/CU (In, GA) SE2 Tandem solar cells
