Scientists at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom have discovered a way to change the structure of semiconductors at the nano level, which can increase the cell efficiency of several materials beyond theoretical limits.
The research team used the atomic force microscope device's conductive tip to compress the semiconductor into a new shape.
Scientists call this discovery the 'flexible photovoltaic effect', which can release more energy from solar cells by changing the single crystal of the semiconductor material, so that they exhibit a photovoltaic effect.
In some types of semiconductors, there is an imperfect symmetry around the center point, which can produce a voltage greater than the bandgap of the material, making the conversion efficiency of the material very low. But scientists at the Department of Physics at Warwick University have discovered A method of doubling the effectiveness of materials and changing their structure so that they exhibit a photovoltaic effect.
Researchers studied barium titanate, titanium dioxide and silicon crystals and found that all three crystals deformed and exhibited photovoltaic effects.
There are several advantages to expanding the range of materials that can benefit from the photovoltaic effect: No need to form any kind of kink; any semiconductor with better light absorption can be selected for solar cells, and finally, thermodynamics that can overcome power conversion efficiency The limit, the so-called Shockley Queisser limit.
