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Recent research conducted on the I14 beamline at Diamond has resulted in an innovation in solar cell design. The studies, conducted by the University of Sheffield, has led to the design of a cell that is more efficient, affordable, sustainable and accessible than traditional solar technology. The research, published in ACS Applied Energy Materials, highlights the development of this new type of solar cell which uses a perovskite semiconductor. Unlike other perovskite solar cells, these are made by embossing tiny grooves into a plastic film which are then filled with the perovskite material.
Using this material eliminates the need for expensive and scarce materials like indium, which will make the new design both sustainable and affordable. The grooved plastic films are flexible and lightweight, making them ideal for surfaces that are not able to support the weight of traditional solar panels. This could change not just how we currently use solar power but opens new possibilities in locations and countries that lack the infrastructure necessary for solar technology.
The cell’s microgroove structure forms a new type of solar cell with a back-contact design, where all the conductive components on the electrical circuit are on the back of the cell. Back-contact cells can be easier to interconnect and assemble into modules, potentially reducing manufacturing costs. This configuration also reduces the amount of shade on the cell, making them more efficient.
The structure and composition of the solar cells was studied with X-ray microscopy on Diamond’s I14 beamline. I14 is a hard X-ray nanoprobe beamline dedicated to nanoscale microscopy and was crucial in gathering the previously unobtainable findings. The detailed images of the cells helped to identify invisible issues like empty spaces, flaws and the distance between tiny crystals within the semiconductor material. This was the first time this sort of analysis has been used on this kind of solar cell.
The research has already been put to good use by Power Roll, a UK-based company, that intends to produce lightweight, flexible solar films.
Dr Jessica Walker, beamline scientist on I14, said:
New and lightweight solar materials are vital for improving our current renewable energy technologies. The nanoscale beam and X-ray fluorescence capabilities of I14 helped characterise how elements were distributed in the material and reveal local variations in concentration. It is great to see how our capabilities have contributed to both academic and industrial research, resulting in this exciting advance.
Professor David Lidzey, from the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Sheffield, and co-author of the paper, said:
Solar energy is a strategic priority for our research and one of our key competences is developing innovative techniques for fabricating and depositing solution-processable solar cells. We've partnered with Power Roll for over ten years, combining our expertise in materials science and advanced imaging techniques with their focus on manufacturing and this collaboration has been very successful, resulting in this exciting new product.
Perovskite crystals have gained attention for their exceptional potential in nanotechnology, particularly in developing nanostructured solar cells. The perovskite material is often a mix of organic and inorganic substances, like lead or tin halides, which are generally inexpensive and easy to make. They have great properties, such as absorbing a wide range of light, quickly separating positive and negative charges, and allowing the separated charges to move along longer distances within the material without recombining, which improves the efficiency of the solar cell.
These materials could greatly enhance the efficiency and affordability of solar energy, making them a promising research area with the potential to revolutionise solar energy utilisation. Advances in perovskite solar generation is an emerging field and ongoing, but academic research is rapidly advancing product development and scientific understanding.
The university’s researchers and the team from Power Roll will soon return to Diamond to make further use of the I14’s microscopy capabilities to investigate the cell’s operation and stability.
For more information on the research and the capabilities of the I14 beamline, get in touch with principal beamline scientist Majid Kazemian at [email protected]
Back-Contact Perovskite Solar Cell Modules Fabricated via Roll-to-Roll Slot-Die Coating: Scale-Up toward Manufacturing, ACS Appl. Energy Mater. 2025, 8, 4, 2219–2228 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.4c02734
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