Forum for Science, Industry and Business

New efficiency world record for organic solar modules

This is the highest efficiency value ever reported for an organic photovoltaic module. It was confirmed by a certified calibrated measurement under standard testing conditions by the independent certification laboratory of Fraunhofer ISE (Freiburg) in September 2019.

Dr. Andreas Distler (ZAE Bayern) with the organic record solar module at the Solar Factory of the Future. In the background, the pilot line for printed thin-film photovoltaics.

Copyright: ZAE/Kurt Fuchs

The multi-cell module was developed at the Solar Factory of the Future at the Energie Campus Nürnberg (EnCN) in a coating laboratory with a unique megawatt pilot line for thin-film photovoltaics, which was designed and implemented with financial support by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs.

"This breakthrough shows that Bavaria is not only a leader in the advancement of photovoltaic installations, but also occupies a leading position in the development of future technologies," emphasises Hubert Aiwanger, Bavarian State Minister of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy.

Organic solar cells usually consist of two different organic components, possessing the necessary semiconductor properties. In contrast to conventionally used silicon, which is manufactured by energy-intensive melting processes, organic materials can be applied directly from solutions onto a carrier film or glass carrier.

On the one hand, this reduces manufacturing costs, on the other hand, the use of flexible, lightweight materials allows for new applications, such as mobile devices or clothing, even if the efficiency is not yet comparable to that of traditional silicon solar cells.

"This milestone in organic semiconductor research shows that the latest performance developments with certified cell efficiencies of over 16 percent are not limited to the laboratory scale, but ready to be scaled up to the level of prototype modules," explains Prof. Christoph Brabec from FAU, director at HI ERN, and scientific director of the Solar Factory of the Future, a research group of ZAE Bayern.

Due to their design, the efficiency of complete photovoltaic modules is always slightly lower than that of individual cells. A part of the module area, for example, is always inactive since it is used for the interconnection of the individual cells. With an increasing module area, the losses caused by the electrodes' electrical resistance increase as well.

The record module consists of twelve serially connected cells and has a geometric fill factor of over 95 percent. This part of the module area actively contributes to the power generation. With respect to its active area, the module even achieves an efficiency of 13.2 percent. The minimisation of inactive areas was achieved through high-resolution laser structuring, as developed and optimised in recent years at the "Solar Factory of the Future".

Tobias Schlößer | EurekAlert!
Further information:
https://www.fz-juelich.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/UK/EN/2019/2019-11-11-opv-record.html

Im Focus: High-pressure scientists in Bayreuth discover promising material for information technology

Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have discovered an unusual material: When cooled down to two degrees Celsius, its crystal structure and electronic properties change abruptly and significantly. In this new state, the distances between iron atoms can be tailored with the help of light beams. This opens up intriguing possibilities for application in the field of information technology. The scientists have presented their discovery in the journal "Angewandte Chemie - International Edition". The new findings are the result of close cooperation with partnering facilities in Augsburg, Dresden, Hamburg, and Moscow.

The material is an unusual form of iron oxide with the formula Fe₅O₆. The researchers produced it at a pressure of 15 gigapascals in a high-pressure laboratory...

Im Focus: From China to the South Pole: Joining forces to solve the neutrino mass puzzle

Study by Mainz physicists indicates that the next generation of neutrino experiments may well find the answer to one of the most pressing issues in neutrino physics

Among the most exciting challenges in modern physics is the identification of the neutrino mass ordering. Physicists from the Cluster of Excellence PRISMA+ at...

Im Focus: Therapies without drugs

Fraunhofer researchers are investigating the potential of microimplants to stimulate nerve cells and treat chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes, or Parkinson’s disease. Find out what makes this form of treatment so appealing and which challenges the researchers still have to master.

A study by the Robert Koch Institute has found that one in four women will suffer from weak bladders at some point in their lives. Treatments of this condition...

Im Focus: A step towards controlling spin-dependent petahertz electronics by material defects

The operational speed of semiconductors in various electronic and optoelectronic devices is limited to several gigahertz (a billion oscillations per second). This constrains the upper limit of the operational speed of computing. Now researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in Hamburg, Germany, and the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay have explained how these processes can be sped up through the use of light waves and defected solid materials.

Light waves perform several hundred trillion oscillations per second. Hence, it is natural to envision employing light oscillations to drive the electronic...

Im Focus: Freiburg researcher investigate the origins of surface texture

Most natural and artificial surfaces are rough: metals and even glasses that appear smooth to the naked eye can look like jagged mountain ranges under the microscope. There is currently no uniform theory about the origin of this roughness despite it being observed on all scales, from the atomic to the tectonic. Scientists suspect that the rough surface is formed by irreversible plastic deformation that occurs in many processes of mechanical machining of components such as milling.

Prof. Dr. Lars Pastewka from the Simulation group at the Department of Microsystems Engineering at the University of Freiburg and his team have simulated such...