Australian scientists have joined an elite club of just eight around the world, making a perovskite solar cell that can hit 30 per cent efficiency.
Led by storied University of Sydney professor Anita Ho-Baillie, the Sydney team’s work was weighed and measured by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
“It shows that we are capable of producing high performance cells. The next step we will achieve is higher performance, either by double junction or triple junction,” Ho-Baillie says.
Oxford scientists make new solar cell technology discovery which you could soon wear, stick on your mobile or coat your car with.
Solar opponents will have to figure out a new line of attack when perovskite solar cells suddenly plaster the world.
A new ultra-thin material created by scientists at Oxford University could revolutionize solar collection technology.
Phosphorus is an exciting element: It is essential for the survival of organisms and promises numerous electronic applications. With this in mind, researchers at the University of Basel have synthesized two-dimensional layers containing rings of five phosphorus atoms (phosphorus pentamers (cyclo-P5)) on a silver surface.
For the first time, they have been able to investigate their electronic properties using combined atomic force and scanning tunneling spectroscopy. They found that the atomic phosphorus pentamer layer retains its semiconductor properties and forms a special electronic interface where the layer joins the silver surface (p-type semiconductor-metal Schottky junction).
This shows that phosphorus pentamers on the silver surface fulfill a basic requirement for applications in field-effect transistors, diodes or solar cells, as recently reported by the research team in the scientific journal Nature Communications (“Probing charge redistribution at the interface of self-assembled cyclo-P5 pentamers on Ag(111)”).
In solar cells and light-emitting diodes, maintaining the excited state kinetics of molecules against annihilation is a race against time. These systems need to strike a careful balance between different processes that lead to loss of energy and those that lead to the desired outcome.
Space-based solar power, an innovative concept that involves capturing solar energy in space and transmitting it to Earth, offers limitless opportunities in system design, manufacturing and deployment. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the energy industry, addressing global clean energy demands while minimizing environmental impact.
The availability of space resources, such as asteroid mining and lunar regolith utilization, presents opportunities for companies that invest in technologies and techniques to extract and process these resources, including precious metals, water and rare minerals.
The importance of continued investment in space exploration cannot be overstated. As space technology advances, businesses must consider potential applications in their industries. Collaboration between space agencies and private companies is key to driving innovation and economic growth, offering countless opportunities for the future.
Schöfbänker made use of a telescope having a 14-inch mirror and assorted gear capable of following satellites that keeps them automatically in the center of a field of view, finessing the equipment with a bit of input and corrections, he told Space.com.
“I make these images by taking a video during the flyover and then stacking (averaging out) and sharpening the best frames,” Schöfbänker said.
The two solar panels that can be seen at the end aren’t visible on any of the computer renderings available online, Schöfbänker advised. “I am not really sure if they are solar panels or some other features like an antenna or something of that nature.”
One of NASA’s key priorities is understanding the potential for life elsewhere in the universe. NASA has not found any credible evidence of extraterrestrial life—but NASA is exploring the solar system and beyond to help us answer fundamental questions, including whether we are alone in the universe.
Silicon wafers produced by the Czochralski process with micrometer-scale pyramidal structural elements on their surfaces are significantly cheaper.
These microtextures capture more light because they are less reflective than a smooth surface. However, coating these wafers with perovskite results in many defects in the crystal lattice, which affect the electronic properties.
However, the team of researchers has developed a strategy for surface passivation that allows the surface defects of the perovskite layer to be smoothed out.
