Researchers at HZB have published their recent work, reporting its current world record of 29.15% efficiency for a tandem solar cell made of perovskite and silicon. The tandem cell provided stable performance for 300 hours ' even without encapsulation. To accomplish this, the group, headed by Prof. Steve Albrecht, investigated physical processes at the interfaces to improve the transport of the charge carriers.

In the beginning of 2020, a team headed by Prof. Steve Albrecht at the HZB broke the previous world record for tandem solar cells made of perovskite and silicon (28.0%, Oxford PV), setting a new world record of 29.15%. Compared to the highest certified and scientifically published efficiency, this is a significant step forward. The new value has been certified at Fraunhofer ISE and listed in the NREL chart. Now, the results have been published in the journal Science with a detailed explanation of the fabrication process and underlying physics.

The Emerging PV Reports Initiative (EPVRI) is a new academic international framework for collecting, presenting and analyzing data about the best achievements in the research of emerging photovoltaic materials, e.g., organic, perovskite and dye sensitized solar cells, among others. The new database for collecting, displaying, and analyzing the performance of emerging photovoltaic technologies was spearheaded by researchers in a worldwide international consortium: the Emerging PV Reports initiative.

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University of Tsukuba researchers examine the molecular-level processes taking place in perovskite solar cells when they are operating, to determine the factors that affect their performance.

The team explained that focusing on improving PCEs alone could be causing researchers to miss the significant steps forward that might result from a more detailed understanding of the underlying mechanisms. For example, the question of what causes the performance of perovskite solar cells to deteriorate is an important one that has not been comprehensively answered. External factors such as oxygen and moisture in the air are known to compromise perovskite layers. However, the internal changes that affect the performance of cells are not as well understood. The researchers have therefore probed the deterioration mechanism using electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy.

Researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), assisted by teams at Croatia's University of Split, have developed a perovskite that can detect gamma rays.

The 'oriented crystal'crystal growth' (OC2G) method of large MAPbBr3 crystals . a) Growing of large crystals by the suspended seed crystal; b,c) The consecutive steps of fusing together individual single crystals into a large crystal. Image by EPFL

"This photovoltaic perovskite crystal, grown in this kilogram size, is a game changer," says EPFL's Professors Lászlo Forró. "You can slice it into wafers, like silicon, for optoelectronic applications, and, in this paper, we demonstrate its utility in gamma-ray detection."

Researchers at Oregon State University have reported recent advances with a new type of perovskite-based optical sensor that more closely mimics the human eye's ability to perceive changes in its visual field. The sensor could be highly beneficial for fields like image recognition, robotics and artificial intelligence.

The team explained that previous attempts to build a human-eye type of device, called a retinomorphic sensor, have relied on software or complex hardware. However, the new sensor's operation is part of its fundamental design, using ultrathin layers of perovskite semiconductors that change from strong electrical insulators to strong conductors when placed in light.

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Scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have investigated how to manufacture perovskite materials and solar technology with human health in mind.

Newly published research points to the safest choices for solvents needed to make perovskite solar cells. Unlike silicon solar panels, which require an industrial process, perovskite solar panels can be made using chemicals and produced using a roll-to-roll printing method or spray coating. The process also costs less and takes less time than manufacturing silicon panels.

Northwestern University researchers have developed new perovskite-based devices to assist in the detection and identification of radioactive isotopes. This method could allow the identification of legal versus illegal gamma rays - such detectors are critical for national security, where they're used to detect illegal nuclear materials smuggled across borders and aid in nuclear forensics, as well as in medical diagnostics imaging.

Using cesium lead bromide in the form of perovskite crystals, the research team found they were able to create highly efficient detectors in both small, portable devices for field researchers and very large detectors.

Researchers at Duke have examined crystalline metal halide perovskites (MHPs), and found that while crystallinity offers numerous advantages, the ability to access a glassy state with distinct properties can provide unique opportunities to extend the associated structure'property relationship, as well as broaden the application space for MHPs.

Amorphous analogs for MHPs have so far been restricted to high pressures, limiting detailed studies and applications. In their new work, the Duke team structurally tailored a 2D MHP using bulky chiral organic cations to exhibit an unusual confluence of exceptionally low melting temperature (175 °C) and inhibited crystallization.

Researchers from the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) in Germany have transferred a practical wetting tool for solution-based perovskite processing to a scalable printing technique.

On the basis of their recent publication on the development of a universal nanoparticle (NP) wetting agent for perovskite precursor solutions on nonwetting materials via spin coating, the team showed for the first time its transfer to scalable gas stream-assisted blade coating of solution-processed perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and modules in the inverted device architecture with highly hydrophobic poly(triaryl amine) (PTAA) as hole transport layer (HTL) on large-area substrates.