DIY micro-spectroscopy device could test perovskite solar cells
A researcher from the University of Melbourne has developed a do-it-yourself device that could help to unlock the next generation of solar technology, including advanced technology for space missions. Dr Jamie Laird, a Research Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science and the University of Melbourne, has invented a machine for testing the defects in perovskite solar cells.
Perovskite solar cells can match silicon for efficiency, are cheap to manufacture and flexible, but have not become commercially viable yet, because they are still too unstable when exposed to heat, light, moisture and oxygen. The device developed by Laird is a combination of a microscope and a special laser that produces pictures and maps of the defects within solar cells and tells scientists where the cells are losing power or efficiency over time and use. It also provides data to indicate why.
An example of micro-spectroscopy, the innovative technique began as a personal project for Laird and was originally intended to analyse minerals. After joining Exciton Science, Laird realised that the device would help solar cell researchers to better understand the issues that have kept perovskites from fulfilling their potential.
“The basis of the technique is microscopy but merging it with frequency analysis. We use a laser beam and we focus to a spot and scan across the device to measure the quality of the solar cell. This new method allows us to do imaging analysis of whole or complete solar cells and look at how they perform, how they change with time and aging, and how good a solar cell they are,” Laird said.
In addition to partners at Monash University, a team from Oxford University is sending samples of prototypes to be tested by Laird’s homemade machine. Members of the University of Sydney working on experimental solar cells for satellites and other space vehicles are also on the waiting list to collaborate.
“You can’t have a solar cell that decomposes quickly when it’s meant to last 20 years in the field. This is a missing link in the repertoire of techniques we have to throw at that problem,” Laird said.
Laird’s findings have been published in the journal Small Methods.
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