High cost is a problem that has been plaguing the commercial large scale usage of solar cells since the time of their inception. But in a nigh radical breakthrough, researchers at the Laboratory for Photovoltaics, University of Luxembourg, have conceived low-cost kesterite-based solar cells. They have an efficiency of 6.1 percent, as verified by Fraunhofer ISE – one of the few laboratories in the world that can provide certification of solar cell efficiency.
Kesterites (Cu2ZnSnS(e)4) are composed of mainly copper, zinc, tin, sulphur and selenium, all of which are prevalent in nature, and hence can be procured at a relatively much lower cost. But still, it’s not the first time that researchers have tried to design low-cost cells. The main concern was during the deposition process, because of the loss of tin due to high temperatures. The loss of tin unbalances the composition of the thin film that can eventually lead to poor performance on the part of the solar cell.
But here, the researchers have countered that difficulty by beginning the design process with a film of only copper and zinc, and adding other materials at later stages. Hence, the manufacturing process becomes simple and can be easily regulated.
Susanne Siebentritt, Director of the Laboratory for Photovoltaics, said:
Thanks to this first success, we are able to focus on understanding other issues relating to these solar cells, which will allow us to increase their efficiency even more in the future.
Via: Printed Electronics World
