120 research outputs found
Radiation Hardness of Perovskite Solar Cells Based on Aluminum‐Doped Zinc Oxide Electrode Under Proton Irradiation
Due to their high specific power and potential to save both weight and stow volume, perovskite solar cells have gained increasing interest to be used for space applications. However, before they can be deployed into space, their resistance to ionizing radiations such as high‐energy protons must be demonstrated. In this report, we investigate the effect of 150 keV protons on the performance of perovskite solar cells based on aluminium‐doped zinc oxide (AZO) transparent conducting oxide (TCO). Record power conversion efficiency of 15% and 13.6% were obtained for cells based on AZO under AM1.5G and AM0 illumination, respectively. We demonstrate that perovskite solar cells can withstand proton irradiation up to 1013 protons.cm−2 without significant loss in efficiency. At this irradiation dose, Si or GaAs solar cells would be completely or severely degraded when exposed to 150 keV protons. From 1014 protons.cm−2, a decrease in short‐circuit current of the perovskite cells is observed, which is consistent with interfacial degradation due to deterioration of the Spiro‐OMeTAD HTL during proton irradiation. Using a combination of non‐destructive characterization techniques, results suggest that the structural and optical properties of perovskite remain intact up to high fluence levels. Although shallow trap states are induced by proton irradiation in perovskite bulk at low fluence levels, they can release charges efficiently and are not detrimental to the cell's performance. This work highlights the potential of perovskite solar cells based on AZO TCO to be used for space applications and give a deeper understanding of interfacial degradation due to proton irradiation
A novel dimethylformamide (DMF) free bar-cast method to deposit organolead perovskite thin films with improved stability
We report a solvent-free approach to synthesizing organolead
perovskites by using solid state reactions to coat perovskite crystals
onto Al2O3 or TiO2 nanoparticles followed by addition of terpineol
affording perovskite inks. We have bar cast these inks to produce
photoactive perovskite thin films which are significantly more
stable to humidity than solution-processed films. This new method
also avoids the use of toxic DMF solvent
Homogeneous and highly controlled deposition of low viscosity inks and application on fully printable perovskite solar cells
The fully printed, hole-transporter-free carbon perovskite solar cell structure incorporating a triple mesoscopic layer has emerged as a possible frontrunner for early industrialisation. It is an attractive structure because it can be fabricated by the simple sequential screen printing and sintering of titania, zirconia, and carbon. The device is finalised by manual dropping of a perovskite precursor solution onto the carbon which subsequently infiltrates. This stage in device fabrication is inhomogeneous, ineffective for large areas, and prone to human error. Here we introduce an automated deposition and infiltration system using a robotic dispenser and mesh which delivers the perovskite precursor uniformly to the carbon surface over a large area. It has been successfully used to prepare perovskite solar cells with over 9% efficiency. Cells, prepared by this robotic mesh deposition, showed comparable performance to reference cells, made by standard drop deposition, confirming this approach to be effective and reliable. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were used to confirm the uniformity of the deposition over a large area
Roadmap on Photovoltaic Absorber Materials for Sustainable Energy Conversion
Photovoltaics (PVs) are a critical technology for curbing growing levels of
anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, and meeting increases in future demand
for low-carbon electricity. In order to fulfil ambitions for net-zero carbon
dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) emissions worldwide, the global
cumulative capacity of solar PVs must increase by an order of magnitude from
0.9 TWp in 2021 to 8.5 TWp by 2050 according to the International Renewable
Energy Agency, which is considered to be a highly conservative estimate. In
2020, the Henry Royce Institute brought together the UK PV community to discuss
the critical technological and infrastructure challenges that need to be
overcome to address the vast challenges in accelerating PV deployment. Herein,
we examine the key developments in the global community, especially the
progress made in the field since this earlier roadmap, bringing together
experts primarily from the UK across the breadth of the photovoltaics
community. The focus is both on the challenges in improving the efficiency,
stability and levelized cost of electricity of current technologies for
utility-scale PVs, as well as the fundamental questions in novel technologies
that can have a significant impact on emerging markets, such as indoor PVs,
space PVs, and agrivoltaics. We discuss challenges in advanced metrology and
computational tools, as well as the growing synergies between PVs and solar
fuels, and offer a perspective on the environmental sustainability of the PV
industry. Through this roadmap, we emphasize promising pathways forward in both
the short- and long-term, and for communities working on technologies across a
range of maturity levels to learn from each other.Comment: 160 pages, 21 figure
Towards Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive science collaborations: The Multimessenger Diversity Network
Testing the AGN Radio and Neutrino correlation using the MOJAVE catalog and 10 years of IceCube Data
Non-standard neutrino interactions in IceCube
Non-standard neutrino interactions (NSI) may arise in various types of new physics. Their existence would change the potential that atmospheric neutrinos encounter when traversing Earth matter and hence alter their oscillation behavior. This imprint on coherent neutrino forward scattering can be probed using high-statistics neutrino experiments such as IceCube and its low-energy extension, DeepCore. Both provide extensive data samples that include all neutrino flavors, with oscillation baselines between tens of kilometers and the diameter of the Earth.
DeepCore event energies reach from a few GeV up to the order of 100 GeV - which marks the lower threshold for higher energy IceCube atmospheric samples, ranging up to 10 TeV.
In DeepCore data, the large sample size and energy range allow us to consider not only flavor-violating and flavor-nonuniversal NSI in the μ−τ sector, but also those involving electron flavor.
The effective parameterization used in our analyses is independent of the underlying model and the new physics mass scale. In this way, competitive limits on several NSI parameters have been set in the past. The 8 years of data available now result in significantly improved sensitivities. This improvement stems not only from the increase in statistics but also from substantial improvement in the treatment of systematic uncertainties, background rejection and event reconstruction
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