Scientists keep pushing the efficiency of solar panels higher and higher, and there is a new record to report: a new solar cell has hit 39.5 percent efficiency.
Almost 40 percent of the sun's radiation can now be converted into electricity, thanks to the 1-sun marker. This type of solar panel material had a previous efficiency record.
You might not know that there are more types of solar cells. The triple-junction III-V tandem solar cells are used in satellites and space vehicles, but they have plenty of potential on the ground as well.
The new cell is more efficient and has a simpler design that may be useful for a variety of new applications.
The efficiency of the solar cell is dependent on the triple-junction part of the equation. Less light is lost and left unused when a junction concentrates on a specific part of the solar spectrum range.
quantum well technologies were used to make further efficiency gains. The general idea is that the materials are carefully chosen and made as thin as possible. The bandgap is the minimum amount of energy required to get the current flowing.
The three junctions are made up of Gallium indium phosphide, Gallium Arsenide, and Gallium Indium As.
GaAs is an excellent material and generally used in III-V multijunction cells, but it does not have the correct bandgap for a three-junction cell, meaning that the balance of photocurrents between the three cells is not optimal.
We have modified the bandgap while maintaining excellent material quality by using quantum wells, which enables this device and potentially other applications.
An increase in the amount of light absorbed without any corresponding voltage loss is one of the improvements added in this latest cell. Several technical changes were made to minimize limitations.
It is the highest 1-sun efficiency of any solar panel cell we have ever recorded. The potential improvements are exciting because it takes time for technologies to make their way from the lab into actual products.
The cells recorded an impressive 34.2% space efficiency, which is what they should achieve when put to use. Their weight and resistance to high-energy particles make them ideal for this task.
As these are the highest efficiency 1-sun solar cells, these cells also set a new standard for efficiency across all photovoltaic technologies, according to the researchers in their published paper.
The research has been published.
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