Using a p-type flexible transparent conductor—made with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT)—and amorphous silicon, a research team led by Laboratory of Nanomaterials at the Skoltech Center for Photonics and Quantum Materials (CPQM) in Russia managed to churn out a power conversion efficiency of 8.8% for hybrid thin film solar cells fabricated at room temperature.
The scientists claim, this is a 16% increase over traditional amorphous silicon solar cells. In 2016. the initial efficiency level reported was 1.6%, which was improved to 3.4% in 2018.
Along with partners from Finland's Aalto University, Germany's DLR Institute of Networked Energy Systems and Estonia's Tallinn University of Technology, the Skoltech team say the carbon nanotubes they created are different from the current crop of transparent conductors mostly used in optical and electronic devices that are n-type semiconductors which restricts their technological development. Emergence of carbon nanotubes as p-type transparent conductors has been promising, they add.
"We have developed a p-type transparent conductor with a state-of-the-art sheet resistance of 17 Ω/sq at a transmittance of 90% in the middle of the visible spectrum and a high degree of mechanical flexibility," explained Professor of RAS and Head of Skoltech's Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Albert Nasibulin. "The newly developed conductor is certainly revolutionary for various single-walled carbon nanotube applications. We anticipate that this will open new avenues for its application in widespread technologies such as optoelectronics, photonics and energy."
Their research work has been published in the international journal Nano Energy.
8.8% Efficiency For Carbon Nanotube a-Si Solar Cells