Scientists develop spray-on solar cells

27 August 2014 Power Electronics / Power Management

A team of scientists at the UK’s University of Sheffield has become the first to fabricate perovskite solar cells using a spray-painting process – a discovery that could help cut the cost of solar electricity.

Efficient organometal halide perovskite-based photovoltaics were first demonstrated in 2012, and this highly promising material is gaining in popularity for solar cells as it combines high efficiency with low materials costs.

Experts from the university’s department of physics and astronomy, and department of chemical and biological engineering, have previously used the spray-painting method to produce solar cells using organic semiconductors, but using perovskite is a major step forward. The process wastes very little of the perovskite material and can be scaled to high-volume manufacturing in a way similar to applying paint to cars and graphic printing.

Lead researcher, Professor David Lidzey, said: “There is a lot of excitement around perovskite-based photovoltaics. Remarkably, this class of material offers the potential to combine the high performance of mature solar cell technologies with the low embedded energy costs of production of organic photovoltaics.”

While most solar cells are manufactured using energy intensive materials like silicon, perovskites, by comparison, require much less energy to make. By spray-painting the perovskite layer in air the team hopes the overall energy used to make a solar cell can be reduced further.

According to Lidzey, “The best certified efficiencies from organic solar cells are around 10%. Perovskite cells now have efficiencies of up to 19%. This is not so far behind that of silicon at 25% – the material that dominates the worldwide solar market.”

He explains that the perovskite devices his team has created still use similar structures to organic cells, but replace the key light absorbing layer – the organic layer – with the spray-painted perovskite. “Using a perovskite absorber instead of an organic absorber gives a significant boost in terms of efficiency,” Lidzey says. “This study advances existing work where the perovskite layer has been deposited from solution using laboratory scale techniques. It’s a significant step towards efficient, low-cost solar cell devices made using high-volume, roll-to-roll processing methods.”

Further reading:

Rugged railway-grade DC-DC power modules
iCorp Technologies Power Electronics / Power Management
iCorp Technologies has introduced the AIPUPOWER ZCD100 and ZCD150 Series, a family of rugged DC-DC converters designed to meet the demanding electrical and environmental requirements of railway and transportation systems.

Read more...

---

Four-quadrant regenerative grid simulator
Conical Technologies Power Electronics / Power Management
The IT7900EP series high-performance regenerative grid simulator from ITECH is a full four-quadrant AC grid simulator capable of both sourcing and sinking power.

Read more...

---

90 W PSU with 150% boost capability
Brabek Power Electronics / Power Management
RECOM’s cost effective REFIN2U-S90/CL DIN rail AC/DC boasts a 90 W rating with a boost capability of 150% for 4,5 seconds to allow for surge loads.

Read more...

---

Standalone USB PD controller
Future Electronics Power Electronics / Power Management
The STUSB4531 from STMicroelectronics is a standalone USB Power Delivery sink controller designed to streamline the implementation of USB-C power negotiation in sink devices without requiring a full software stack on a host microcontroller.

Read more...

---

Power module enhances AI data centre power density
Altron Arrow Power Electronics / Power Management
Microchip’s MCPF1525 power module with PMBus delivers 25 A DC-DC power and is stackable up to 200 A.

Read more...

---

MIL-Spec DC-DC power converters
Vepac Electronics Power Electronics / Power Management
PowerGood has introduced a range of 15 W to 600 W military DC-DC power converters engineered for mission critical defence applications.

Read more...

---

Compact power MOSFET for high current switching
Future Electronics Power Electronics / Power Management
onsemi’s NTMFSC2D6N08X is a high-performance 80 V N-channel power MOSFET engineered for demanding switching and power conversion applications.

Read more...

---

DC link capacitors for demanding applications
RS South Africa Power Electronics / Power Management
TDK Corporation has announced the B3271xP series of DC link film capacitors, offering high thermal robustness for demanding automotive and industrial power electronics.

Read more...

---

N-channel power MOSFETs
TRX Electronics Power Electronics / Power Management
The TSM2N7002 series from Taiwan Semiconductor are logic-level N-channel power MOSFETs designed with low drain-source on-state resistance, reducing conduction losses and improving efficiency in switching applications.

Read more...

---

Smart power protection, simplified
TRX Electronics Power Electronics / Power Management
onsemi electronic fuses (eFuses) deliver integrated, intelligent protection by combining overcurrent, overvoltage, over-temperature, reverse polarity, and inrush current safeguards in a single compact IC.

Read more...

---