Main content:
1. What is a translucent solar cell
A translucent solar cell with varying degrees of light transparency. In solar photovoltaic cells, new perovskite technologies offer higher efficiency because they have larger extraction spectra and multi-junction cells.
They are also lighter, more flexible, cheaper, and easier to construct than older technologies such as silicon. Because they can be manufactured at lower temperatures and mounted on plastic.
2. How translucent solar cells work
Transparent components work by capturing light in the invisible ultraviolet spectrum while allowing light in the visible spectrum to pass through. Translucent solar cell uses ultra-thin layers of semiconductor material under two sheets of glass a few microns thick.
Lower transparency means that these cells limit the amount of solar heat that enters the building. Translucent solar cell can be fabricated using a range of semiconductor technologies, including amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride (CdTe), and perovskites, to name a few.
Perovskites are one of the most promising technologies for next generation solar battery. Perovskite-based transparent cells can change the film thickness by depositing a thin layer of perovskite crystals and changing the solution concentration.
Or it can be created by partially covering the perovskite and leaving a blank part. Cell transparency can also be adjusted by changing the bandgap, using the ratio of bromide to iodide to leave a gap in the absorbed visible light.
While perovskites are the most viable new materials to replace silicon, the lifetimes of perovskite-based batteries are not yet matched. Perovskite crystals are layered on top of silicon in tandem devices to provide higher conversion rates while benefiting from the advantages of both technologies.
3. Advantages and disadvantages of translucent solar cell
Translucent solar cells have significant advantages over traditional opaque cells, but they also have some disadvantages.
Advantages
- When the high efficiency solar panels are not tilted to the optimum angle, the conversion efficiency loss is lower, making it ideal for vertical installation on buildings.
- Higher heat resistance Less space is needed for panel installation because batteries can be used to build windows, cell phone screens, cars, greenhouses, etc.
- Lightweight allows the creation of portable power generation systems.
Disadvantages
- The lower total efficiency is less than 10%, compared to about 25% for conventional batteries.
- This is because greater transparency reduces efficiency, which in turn reduces the competitiveness of the technology.
- Higher cost, because lower efficiency means more panels are needed to produce the same amount of power.
- Panels require special equipment, such as the purchase of new bulbs or plugs that are compatible with electrical equipment.
- Cloud output is low impacting performance.
- The panels are mostly glass, so they need to be handled with care to avoid cracks or breakage.
At present, there are many disadvantages of mainstream crystalline silicon solar cell photovoltaic power generation technology: photoelectric conversion efficiency is strongly dependent on light intensity, close to the theoretical limit efficiency, the application scenario is single, the production cost is high, and flexible bending cannot be realized.
Faced with the new round of innovation in photovoltaic power generation system and industrial development opportunities, it is necessary to develop new technologies to expand the application scenarios of photovoltaic power generation.
And through higher quality new energy generation methods to improve the degree of coupling with the operation of the power grid. Therefore, new translucent solar cell needs to be developed to adapt to a variety of application scenarios and meet the requirements of various performance indicators under the new format and pattern of low-carbon energy transition.
4. Perovskite materials and translucent solar cell
Perovskite solar cell is mainly composed of an electron transport layer, a perovskite layer, a hole transport layer and two electrode layers. The brief working principle is that the perovskite photoabsorbing layer is excited by external photon energy to generate electron-hole pairs.
And then the generated electrons and holes pass through the electron transport layer and the hole transport layer to the electrodes on both sides of the cell and enter the external circuit for power generation.
Perovskite solar cells are a typical representative of the new generation of solar photovoltaic power generation technology, which has the advantages of high photoelectric conversion efficiency, low dependence on light intensity, simple preparation process, diverse processing methods, and low cost.
At present, the highest photoelectric conversion efficiency of single-cell perovskite solar cells has exceeded 25.7%, which is the highest level among the new generation of solar cells.
More importantly, the translucency of the device can also be achieved by flexibly adjusting the spectral absorption range and intensity of the perovskite photoabsorbing layer and using a transparent conductive material as the top electrode.
Translucent photovoltaic power generation technology can not only realize the diversification of solar cell application scenarios, but also help photoelectric conversion efficiency to exceed 30%, and achieve ultra-high efficiency and multi-application scenarios of photovoltaic power generation.
Due to the characteristics of adjustable bandgap, convenient preparation processes, low preparation costs, and high photoelectric conversion efficiency, perovskite solar cells have attracted extensive attention, and the highest photoelectric conversion efficiency of single-junction perovskite solar cells has reached 25.7% to date.
In the process of development, the researchers also found that the absorption spectrum of perovskite solar cells is flexible and table, the device can achieve translucency, and can be deposited on flexible and bendable thin film substrates. These are all difficult to achieve with 12v 100ah lithium ion batteries based on crystalline silicon materials at present. Therefore, translucent solar cell came into being.
5. Conclusion
From the perspective of the application of translucent perovskite solar cells, it is necessary to explore and prepare large-area translucent perovskite solar cell modules that meet the conditions for commercial application as soon as possible, and verify the advancement of the technology itself through demonstration projects and further optimize it.
In order to promote the commercial application of translucent perovskite solar cells in the field of tandem solar cells and greenhouse agricultural photovoltaics.
Related articles: Top 5 perovskite solar cell companies, silicon pv, flexible battery