David Mitzi and coworkers at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center in New York have reported a new Cu2ZnSn(Se1–xSx)4-type solar cell (where x ≈ 0.03) which has a 10.1% power conversion efficiency. The authors used a liquid processing technique to control the S:Se ratio (and therefore band gap) in the cell.
This type of solar cell is made from elements that are relatively abundant making them good contenders for future affordable power generation from the sun.
Read this HOT article in full today:
Low band gap liquid-processed CZTSe solar cell with 10.1% efficiency
Santanu Bag, Oki Gunawan, Tayfun Gokmen, Yu Zhu, Teodor Todorov and David Mitzi
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2EE00056C
This paper comes hot on the heels of Professor Henry Snaith’s tutorial paper describing how to accurately measure the efficiency of solar cells. For more details read the full article:
How should you measure your excitonic solar cells?
Henry Snaith
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03429H
