New technology to produce flexible photoelectric cells

The University of Delaware's Institute of Conversion Energy (IEC) has developed a new technology for making photovoltaic cells. This technology can help reduce the costs associated with using optical energy at the same time expanding the applicability of these devices.

A new system allows the production of flexible photovoltaic cells on long panels more efficiently by using the reactors according to each roll like accelerating newspaper printing through a compressor. Properly understood, this system, according to Erten Eser, an IEC scientist, has the ability to 'have extremely high output products, thus minimizing production costs.'

It can also make lightweight and flexible panels containing photovoltaic cells suitable for applications in space, military and entertainment areas. For standard applications, these photovoltaic cells can be integrated into traditional hard structures.

Thanks to its toughness, photovoltaic cells easily adapt to many different surfaces. Eser added that this is 'an extremely important factor for applications placed on the roof and for both balloons and bubbles.'

Erten Eser (left) and Shannon Fields are examining a flexible panel for solar energy produced at the University of Delaware's Energy Conversion Institute (photo: Kathy Atkinson).

Panels containing photovoltaic cells are made of copper, indium, gallium and diselinide, which is called CIGS by scientists at IEC , on a 10-inch thick polymer mesh (equivalent to 25, 4 cm). It is then processed into flexible photovoltaic cells. CIGS photovoltaic cells are currently the only thin-fiml technology (thin film) to achieve the same efficiency as silicon photovoltaic cells. Silicon photovoltaic cells are currently standard in this industry.

IEC does not have enough equipment to handle CIGS grids into small photovoltaic modules but IEC is cooperating with other organizations to commercialize this technology.

However, IEC assessed the quality of CIGS photovoltaic cells on molybdenum-coated mesh by describing the uniformity of the grid. The researchers found that the electrical conversion efficiency of photovoltaic cells was 10%. The energy conversion efficiency of a photovoltaic cell is the percentage of energy that is converted from light rays into energy and then assembled when a photovoltaic cell is connected to an electrical circuit. .

CIGS photovoltaic cells are made of multi-layer thin-film technology stacked on a substrate in this case that is a polyimide high-temperature molybdenum, CIGS, Sulfide Catmi, oxide Indium tin and zinc.

Eser said: 'All coating components of this structure can easily be processed on a flexible substrate. Honestly, the CIGS class is the most difficult class to handle because of the high background temperature and the accumulation of the remaining four layers, but the result of this process is very high efficiency photovoltaic cells. '

Eser said this success is very important because: 'it shows the feasibility of the most difficult stage of a manufacturing process'. Other thin-film photovoltaic cells can also be made into flexible structures. He commented: 'They are marketed but the application is very limited by low performance.'

Eser said: "Photovoltaic cells on cadmium and tellurium have too many processing steps to create them into flexible substrates." They require that light must go into the device through the substrate, so these backgrounds are also required to be transparent, he added, "current high, transparent and flexible temperatures are not available." for photovoltaic cells on cadmium and telua bases ".

Researchers at IEC began developing flexible CIGS photovoltaic cells in 1995 as part of a multi-year project funded by the Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency. This is an agency that conducts key research and development of the US Department of Defense.

Eser said: 'At the end of this project in 2004, we had a lot of experience but could not make any breakthrough in creating photoelectric cells on flexible substrates.'

However, the leaders of IEC believe in the future of this technology and they continue to sponsor the Institute's research in this area thanks to other funding sources.

The major breakthrough occurred in 2003 and since then researchers have improved the quality and quantity of quality required. "We can now produce flexible CIGS photovoltaic cells with a width of 10 inches (25.4 cm) and a length of 50 feet (equivalent to 15.24 meters)," he said. They reach about 10% efficiency.

The Kiet