KAUST researchers have conducted outdoor tests, that have shown that an increase in temperature affects the performance of a tandem perovskite/silicon solar cell due to voltage losses aw well as current mismatch between the two sub-cells.

The energy yield of two-terminal tandem cells is maximized when the two sub-cells produce the same current at the maximum power point. However, when one of the two devices generates less current than the other, and current mismatch between the sub-cells occurs, the overall device's current is affected.

Fraunhofer ISE researchers have conducted outdoor tests, that have shown that an increase in temperature affects the performance of a tandem perovskite/silicon solar cell due to voltage losses aw well as current mismatch between the two sub-cells.

The energy yield of two-terminal tandem cells is maximized when the two sub-cells produce the same current at the maximum power point. However, when one of the two devices generates less current than the other, and current mismatch between the sub-cells occurs, the overall device's current is affected. “The output current of a sub-cell is determined by the bandgap of the absorber but this may vary under operating conditions,” said Jan Christoph Goldschmidt, the team head for novel solar cell concepts at Fraunhofer, adding that current mismatch is responsible for affecting the overall cell's optimal bandgaps.

Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have announced the development of an optoelectronic magnetic double perovskite. The discovery could open the door to combining spintronics with optoelectronics for rapid and energy-efficient information storage.

The team explains that one type of perovskite that contains halogens and lead has recently been shown to have interesting magnetic properties, opening the possibility of using it in spintronics. Spintronics is thought to have huge potential for the next generation of information technology, since information can be transmitted at higher speeds and with low energy consumption. However, magnetic properties of halide perovskites have until now been associated only with lead-containing perovskites, which has limited the development of the material for both health and environmental reasons.

NREL and Energy Materials Corp. (EMC) have joined forces on a project to determine the thermal budget for the coating of perovskite films using different substrates and perovskite inks.

Supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Energy Technologies Office and Advanced Manufacturing Office, both thermal and rapid thermal processing will be studied to determine optimal device processing conditions for NREL's scalable ink and scalable processing.

Researchers from Russia-based ITMO University have created a perovskite-based surface that can turn normal glass into a smart surface. The surface will also be able to convert solar energy into electricity.

"Perovskite films are successfully implemented in LED production. We want to use these films to create surfaces that could be potentially used in AR screens. They have to be transparent enough for users to be comfortable looking through them. At the same time, they have to radiate light to display the necessary information on the screen," explains Sergey Makarov, lead researcher at ITMO's Faculty of Physics and Engineering.