Solar energy is renewable source of energy which is now being increasingly used in homes, offices and industries. Researchers at Penn State University have developed a semitransparent perovskite solar cell that is highly efficient in nature. Interestingly, they can be coupled with conventional silicon cells to significantly improve the performance of both devices. The researchers are acknowledging it as the key step towards developing the completely transparent solar panels in the future as they are now capable of developing the ultrathin metal electrodes.
“Transparent solar cells could one day find a place in the windows of residential and office buildings, converting sunlight into electricity that would otherwise be wasted,” says Kai Wang, assistant professor of science and engineering at Penn State University. According to the researchers, the conventional solar cells made up of silicon are approaching to the limits of technology. These perovskite cells proves to be a successful alternative and stacking on traditional cells can create more efficient tandem devices. “We have shown that we can make electrodes from very thin atomic layers of gold, almost a few,” said Shashank Priya, vice president of research and professor of materials science and technology at Penn State. “The thin gold layer has high electrical conductivity and at the same time does not impair the cell’s ability to absorb sunlight,” he further added.
