Atomic motion could help push solar cells beyond conventional limits
The bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE), a photoelectric effect that generates photocurrent without a p–n junction, can persist even when a material's average crystal structure remains centrosymmetric, a study from Institute of Science Tokyo has found.
The bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE), a photoelectric effect that generates photocurrent without a p–n junction, can persist even when a material's average crystal structure remains centrosymmetric, a study from Institute of Science Tokyo has found.
The short version
- Researchers demonstrated this in CuCrP2S6, a van der Waals material that transitions from a noncentrosymmetric to a centrosymmetric average structure.
- The finding challenges the conventional view of BPVE and suggests a new strategy for enhancing photoelectric conversion.
- This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies .
What happened
Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Conventional solar cells generate photocurrent by separating and transporting light-generated charge carriers, typically through structures such as p–n junctions. This approach has a fundamental theoretical efficiency limit, known as the Shockley–Queisser limit.
Why it matters
For an ideal single-junction silicon solar cell, this limit is about 33%.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Phys.org via the links above and below.