Solar cell manufacturing process could have wider application
1 min read
A research team at the University of California, Los Angeles has created a process for manufacturing highly efficient photovoltaic materials and says the approach shows promise for low cost industrial production of solar cells.
However, Huanping Zhou, pictured, a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA, believes the process could eventually be adapted to use organic-inorganic hybrid materials for the production of transistors, LEDs and other devices.
According to the researchers, technological advances have enabled them to create perovskite crystals with different compositions that are suited to perform different functions. In this instance, they used crystals made from a hybrid of methyl ammonium halide and lead halide, which were then made into a thin film and sandwiched between two electrodes.
Led by Professor Yang Yang, the researchers devised a way to produce solar cells using those materials more efficiently and cost effectively than the current methods.
The UCLA team used a vapour assisted solution process, which involved coating a substrate with the inorganic component and then treating it in a steam bath of organic molecules at about 150°C. Organic material infiltrates the inorganic matter and forms a uniform and compact perovskite film.
Solar cells have been produced with a power conversion rate of more than 12% – said to be 'comparable to or better than' that of amorphous silicon solar cells. While the test cells were postage stamp sized, the process is believed to be scalable.
