Researchers from Linköping University in Sweden and Universidad de Concepción in Chile recently designed a new type of random number generator for encryption, based on Perovskiye LEDs. The new technology could make digital information exchange safer, cheaper and more environmentally friendly and even pave the way for a new type of quantum communication.

To encrypt information, a random number generator is used, which can either be a computer program or the hardware itself. The random number generator provides keys that are used to both encrypt and unlock the information at the receiving end. Different types of random number generators provide different levels of randomness and thus security. Hardware is the safer option as randomness is controlled by physical processes. And the hardware method that provides the best randomness is based on quantum phenomena – what researchers call the Quantum Random Number Generator, QRNG.

Researchers from Japan's Tokyo Institute of Technology, University of Oxford in the UK and Colorado State University in the U.S have shown that α-FAPbI₃, a promising solar cell material with a cubic perovskite structure that is metastable at room temperature, can be stabilized by introducing a pseudo-halide ion like thiocyanate (SCN^–) into its structure. The recent findings provide new insights into the stabilization of the α-phase via grain boundary and pseudo-halide engineering.

A material with good photophysical properties that has recently gained momentum is α-formamidinium lead iodide or α-FAPbI₃ (where FA⁺ = CH(NH₂)₂⁺), a crystalline solid with a cubic perovskite structure. Solar cells made of α-FAPbI₃ exhibit a remarkable 25.8% conversion efficiency and an energy gap of 1.48 eV. Unfortunately, α-FAPbI₃ is metastable at room temperature and undergoes a phase transition to δ-FAPbI₃ when triggered by water or light. The energy gap of δ-FAPbI₃ is much larger than the ideal value for solar cell applications, making the preservation of the α-phase crucial for practical purposes. To overcome this problem, the team of researchers, led by Associate Professor Takafumi Yamamoto from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), has recently presented a new strategy for stabilizing α-FAPbI₃.

According to reports, Panasonic is planning to sell windows made of “power-generating glass”, with perovskite solar cells integrated into transparent panes, to deliver power for homes. The module reportedly has a conversion efficacy of 17.9%, which is said to be the second highest worldwide for a perovskite cell larger than 800 sq. centimeters, ( after China’s UtmoLight - 18.6%).

Panasonic has been developing the cells since 2014 but only recently completed a test project, which consisted of installing the innovative glass on the balcony of a model home in its smart-town project in Kanagawa prefecture.

Researchers from The University of Sydney, University of New South Wales, Macquarie University and University of Technology Sydney have demonstrated efficient perovskite solar cells (PSCs) on steel substrates.

The team explained that steel, being flexible and conductive, can itself can act as both a substrate and an electrode for either large-area-monolithic-panel or smaller-area-singular single-junction or multi-junction cell fabrication. The reported cells could be used for building-integrated PV (BIPV), vehicle-integrated solar (VIPV), or other design-integrated photovoltaics for terrestrial or space applications.

It was reported that Sekisui Chemical, a Japanese plastics maker, will begin mass production of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) in an effort to catch up with Chinese competitors.

The company will invest more than 10 billion yen (over USD $68 million) to build a new manufacturing facility with an annual production volume of several hundred thousand square meters by 2030.

Researchers from Chonnam National University, Chinese Academy of Sciences,  Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Pennsylvania State University have introduced an alternative solar cell design fully based on inorganic perovskites. Their solar cells could be easier to fabricate on a large-scale, while also achieving promising power conversion efficiencies (PCEs).

The key objective of the recent work was to create new solar cells fully based on inorganic perovskites using a developed method that could be easy to up-scale. Ultimately, they fabricated their solar cells using hot-air and thermal evaporation deposition techniques that work at ambient conditions without requiring polar solvents (i.e., liquids containing both positive and negative charges).

Researchers from Harvard University have reported a bioinspired liquid-based encapsulation strategy, that offers protection from water without sacrificing the operational properties of the encapsulated materials.

Using halide perovskite as a model system, the team showed that damage to the perovskite from exposure to water is drastically reduced when it is coated by a polymer matrix with infused hydrophobic oil. 

Researchers from Duke University and North Carolina State University have reported glass formation for low-melting-temperature 1-MeHa₂PbI₄ (1-MeHa = 1-methyl-hexylammonium) using ultrafast calorimetry, thereby extending the range of metal halide perovskite (MHP) glass formation across a broader range of organic (fused ring to branched aliphatic) and halide (bromide to iodide) compositions. 

A few years ago, Akash Singh and collaborators at Duke University set out to explore the realm of glassy perovskites, a departure from the traditionally studied crystalline perovskites. Since then, this topic sparked interest, resulting in the establishment of a novel research domain centered around glass-forming hybrid perovskite semiconductors with reversible switching. This recent discovery of glass formation in MHPs opens new opportunities associated with reversible glass-crystalline switching, with each state offering distinct optoelectronic properties. However, the previously reported [S-(−)-1-(1-naphthyl)ethylammonium]₂PbBr₄ perovskite is a strong glass former with sluggish glass-crystal transformation time scales, pointing to a need for glassy MHPs with a broader range of compositions and crystallization kinetics.   

A collaborative effort by researchers from the Centre for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy (CHOSE), Department of Electronic Engineering at Tor Vergata University of Rome, Italy, the Department of Textile Engineering at the University of Guilan, Iran, GreatCell Solar Italia, Institute of Crystallography (IC-CNR), Italy, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies at the University of Salento, Italy and Institute of Nanotechnology (CNR NANOTEC), Italy, has resulted in the development of flexible perovskite solar cells with remarkable power conversion efficiencies (PCE) under white LED illumination.

The team achieved a maximum PCE of 28.9% at an illuminance of 200 lx and a record of 32.5% at 1000 lx, essentially converting a third of the incoming power (note that under 1 sun this figure for perovskite technology is less, i.e. one quarter).

Microquanta has reported that its novel perovskite-based PV power station is now connected to the grid. The Company referred to it as a "perovskite commercial rooftop power station", erected over the water for fish farming applications. 

The perovskite power station is located in Qujiang district, Quzhou City, which is rich in water sources and farming. According to local conditions, it adopts the "onboard power generation and offboard farming" model. The installed capacity of the first phase is around 260 kW. The owner is Qujiang Construction Investment.