Researchers in Wales and Finland have developed a new analytical model for understanding how thin-film solar cells work, Phys.org reported. The breakthrough could have major implications in developing more ultra-efficient ways to harvest clean, renewable energy from the sun.
The existing model for explaining how current flows through solar cells, known as the Shockley diode equation, is nearly eight decades old — roughly as old as the first practical silicon solar cell itself.
The new model, from scientists at Swansea University in Wales and Åbo Akademi University in Finland, reveals a critical balance between collecting energy from light and minimizing losses due to recombination. It gives a more accurate picture of the thin-film solar cells that could be crucial to the future of the industry.
Their findings were published in the scientific journal PRX Energy.
"The traditional models just weren't capturing the whole picture, especially for these thin-film cells with low-mobility semiconductors," Ardalan Armin, associate professor at Swansea University, explained.
Super-thin solar panels have been hailed as a major clean energy breakthrough. Photovoltaic film can be strategically placed in all kinds of locations where traditional bulky, inflexible solar panels cannot — even on peoples' clothing.
One study found that, while most researchers in the field are working on ways to make solar cells more efficient, designing them to better fit their surroundings could yield even better results in terms of overall clean energy harvested.
"Making solar cells super-efficient turns out to be very difficult. So, instead of just trying to make solar cells better, we figured some other ways to capture more solar energy," said Dr. Tomi Baikie, one of the study's authors. "This could be really helpful for communities, giving them different options to think about instead of just focusing on making the cells more efficient with light."
With this new model for understanding how thin-film photovoltaics work, scientists can potentially do both, focusing on ultra-thin solar film that can fit anywhere and is also the most efficient.
Breakthroughs like this one are vital to pushing clean energy forward to where it can begin to replace polluting forms of dirty energy en masse.
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