Ogilvy & Mather physicists propose "wireless" type photovoltaic cells

Physicists in Austria, the United States, and Germany recently proposed a new type of photovoltaic cell. The design of the battery was based on the discovery 10 years ago that the interface of the two insulating oxides could be changed to a metal substance, which may make the photovoltaic cell no longer require a metal wire. If the cost of manufacturing the oxide layered structure can be reduced, then this research may give birth to a new type of high-efficiency photovoltaic cell.

In 2004, physicists Harold Hwang and Akira Ohtomo made a major discovery. When the insulator barium titanate was grown in another insulator barium titanate, the 2D electron-gas combination could generate metal substances. This phenomenon is caused when the polar oxide meets another non-polar oxide and causes charge accumulation.

Conductive interface

A team of researchers from the Vienna University of Technology, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Wurzburg have calculated the calculations and proposed using this effect to create a completely new type of photovoltaic cell - - Conduction of current through the conductive interface, not metal wires.

The remoteness of the photovoltaic cell is a "photovoltaic effect", which refers to a potential difference between different parts of the non-uniform semiconductor or semiconductor combined with the metal caused by light irradiation. It is firstly a process in which photons (light waves) are converted into electrons and light energy is converted into electric energy. Second, it is the process of voltage formation.

Satoshi Okamoto of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and his colleagues concluded that this may help separate electrons and holes from each other before they bind. If the polar oxide is combined with a suitable non-polar oxide, the interface becomes a metal. Therefore, electrons and holes can be derived from either end without the need for wires on the surface.

Absorbance maximized

First polar oxides need to absorb as much solar energy as possible. The band gap of a substance is the difference between the valence and the energy of the conduction band certificate. Photons below the band gap cannot create electron-hole pairs, while photons with energy larger than the band gap can create electron-hole pairs. However, the latter exceeds the bandgap electrical energy will be lost with the heat. Therefore, the bandgap is low enough to absorb large amounts of photons.

Therefore, the researchers "picked" yttrium vanadate with a band gap of 1.1 eV - visible band gap between 1.5-3.5 eV. They used density functional theory to establish a model of a bismuth vanadate photovoltaic cell grown on a barium titanate substrate. Although they can't make accurate predictions about power generation efficiency, researchers say that this inherent advantage merits further study.

Optimistic and cautious

Is the efficiency of this photovoltaic cell economically viable? Okamoto is optimistic and cautious about this. In his opinion, this may be very competitive, but it will take a long time. I hope that when people fully realize the advantages of this photovoltaic cell, its cost will drop.

Neil Greenham from Cambridge University who is committed to the development of innovative photovoltaic cells described the research results published in Physical Review Express as "an interesting paper," but he stressed that whether the battery can surpass the current technology remains to be seen. The birth of a product prototype.

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