Aussie uni finds way to make more reliable perovskite cells

Scientists at the Australian National University (ANU) have developed a new fabrication technique for the making of more reliable perovskite cells, they said Monday.

The team has already hit 16.6% efficiency for a semi-transparent perovskite cell, and 24.5% for a perovskite-silicon tandem. Research into the latter combination is being done globally because perovskite cells are known for capturing visible light, while conventional silicon cells are more efficient at converting infrared light into electricity. Thus the two technologies work good together.

"The prospect of adding a few additional processing steps at the end of a silicon cell production line to make perovskite cells is very exciting and could boost solar efficiency from 25% to 30%," said Tom White from the ANU Research School of Engineering.

ANU’s fabrication technique involves the use of a small amount indium into one of the cell layers during fabrication. The researchers say that could increase the photovoltaic (PV) cell's output by up to 25%.

The work is done under the AUD-12.2-million (USD 9.2m/EUR 8.5m) project “High-efficiency silicon/perovskite solar cells”, led by University of New South Wales. The list of partners includes Trina Solar, Suntech R&D Australia, Monash University and Arizona State University. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing a portion of the project funds.

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