New efficiency record for solar cellsMay 15, 2008Joint research at Eindhoven University of Technology and Fraunhofer Institute The efficiency improvement is achieved by the use of an ultra-thin aluminum oxide layer at the front of the cell, and it brings a breakthrough in the use of solar energy a step closer. An improvement of more than 1 per cent (in absolute terms) may at first glance appear modest, but it can enable solar cell manufacturers to greatly increase the performance of their products. This is because higher efficiency is a very effective way of reducing the cost price of solar energy. The costs of applying the thin layer of aluminum oxide are expected to be relatively low. This will mean a significant reduction in the cost of producing solar electricity.
Ultra-thin Hoex was able to achieve the increase in efficiency by depositing an ultra-thin layer (approximately 30 nanometer) of aluminum oxide on the front of a crystalline silicon solar cell. This layer has an unprecedented high level of built-in negative charges, through which the - normally significant - energy losses at the surface are almost entirely eliminated. Of all sunlight falling on these cells, 23.2 per cent is now converted into electrical energy. This was formerly 21.9 per cent, which means a 6 per cent improvement in relative terms. Dutch company OTB Solar Hoex gained his PhD last week at the Applied Physics department of the TU/e with this research project. He was supported in the Plasma & Materials Processing (PMP) research group by professor Richard van de Sanden and associate professor Erwin Kessels. This group specializes in plasma deposition of extremely thin layers. The Dutch company OTB Solar has been a licensee of one of these processes since 2001, which it is using in its solar cell production lines. Numerous solar cell manufacturers around the world use equipment supplied by OTB Solar. The ultra-thin aluminum oxide layer developed in the PMP group may lead to a technology innovation in the solar cell world. A number of major solar cell manufacturers have already shown interest. Promising Solar cells have for years looked like a highly promising way to partly solve the energy problem. The sun rises day after day, and solar cells can conveniently be installed on surfaces with no other useful purpose. Solar energy also offers opportunities for use in developing countries, many of which have high levels of sunshine. Within ten to fifteen years the price of electricity generated by solar cells is expected to be comparable to that of 'conventional' electricity from fossil fuels. This technology breakthrough now brings the industrial application of this type of high-efficiency solar cell closer. For this reason, part of Hoex's PhD research project was paid for by three Dutch ministries: Economic Affairs; Education, Culture and Science; and Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. Eindhoven University of Technology Science News and Science Current Events Tag Cloud This tag cloud is a visual representation of term frequencies of random science news topics with common terms grouped together and emphasized by their display size. Spacecraft Contact Lenses Iron Quantum cryptography Space Telescope Probiotics Bariatric Surgery Alcohol Dependence Concussion Helium Digital Camera Sinusitis Discrimination Chewing Gum Water Molecules Melanin Chest Pain Placebo Honey Bee Earthquakes Galaxy Arctic Ocean Cognitive Function Hiv Testing Blindness
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Related Solar Cell Current Events and Solar Cell News Articles Flexible Solar Strips Light Up Campus Bus Shelter There won't be anymore waiting in the dark at this campus bus shelter. New flexible solar cell technology developed by a group of engineering researchers at McMaster University has been installed to power lighting for night-time transit users. Lasers are making solar cells competitive Solar electricity has a future: It is renewable and available in unlimited quantities, and it does not produce any gases detrimental to the climate. Discovered after 40 years: Moon dust hazard influenced by Sun's elevation In the 1960s and 1970s, the Apollo Moon Program struggled with a minuscule, yet formidable enemy: sticky lunar dust. Four decades later, a new study reveals that forces compelling lunar dust to cling to surfaces -- ruining scientific experiments and endangering astronauts' health --change during the lunar day with the elevation of the sun. Ancient diatoms lead to new technology for solar energy Engineers at Oregon State University have discovered a way to use an ancient life form to create one of the newest technologies for solar energy, in systems that may be surprisingly simple to build compared to existing silicon-based solar cells. University of Alberta and NINT researchers make solar energy breakthrough The University of Alberta and the National Research Council's National Institute (NINT) for Nanotechnology have engineered an approach that is leading to improved performance of plastic solar cells (hybrid organic solar cells). heaper materials could be key to low-cost solar cells Unconventional solar cell materials that are as abundant but much less costly than silicon and other semiconductors in use today could substantially reduce the cost of solar photovoltaics, according to a new study from the Energy and Resources Group and the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Research highlights potential for improved solar cells A team of Los Alamos researchers led by Victor Klimov has shown that carrier multiplication-when a photon creates multiple electrons-is a real phenomenon in tiny semiconductor crystals and not a false observation born of extraneous effects that mimic carrier multiplication. The research, explained in a recent issue of Accounts of Chemical Research, shows the possibility of solar cells that create more than one unit of energy per photon. Boosting the power of solar cells New ways of squeezing out greater efficiency from solar photovoltaic cells are emerging from computer simulations and lab tests conducted by a team of physicists and engineers at MIT. Precise measurement of phenomenon advances solar cell understanding Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have shed light on a basic process that could improve future solar cells. Just Scratching the Surface: New Technique Maps Nanomaterials as They Grow Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a measurement technique that will help scientists and companies map nanomaterials as they grow. More Solar Cell Current Events and Solar Cell News Articles |
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