Another innovative EU project with HZB participation kicked off
Symbol picture for BIPV (University of Zurich (Zh) - 100 kWp) © Planeco GmbH
The CUSTOM-ART consortium consists of 17 academic and industrial partners, involving world leading groups and main European actors involved in the development of kesterite technologies. It leads an ambitious and disruptive project for the development and demonstration of the next generation of building and product integrated photovoltaic modules (BIPV and PIPV) based on abundant thin-film materials. The project started September, 1st 2020 and will run for 3.5 years.
HZB contributes to the technology development by systematically investigating the structure-function relationship of kesterite-type materials as one of quaternary chalcogenide compound semiconductors. HZB will study the influence of alkali doping on the point defect scenario and level of structural disorder. These studies will rely on detailed structural investigations of kesterite-type monograins (based on neutron diffraction and multiple energy anomalous X-ray diffraction). Also HZB will contribute with combinatorial high-throughput materials optimization applying especially advanced optoelectronic analytics. HZB has a share of 550 TEUR out of the total funding based on budgeted total costs of 8M€.
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- Magnetic imaging: Micro-flowers increase the local magnetic fieldMaterials with magnetic nanostructures have many potential applications such as in spintronics. To explore such materials, nanoscale magnetic-sensitive imaging techniques are very useful, but up to now only weak magnetic fields could be applied during the imaging process. Now an international collaboration led by Dr. Sergio Valencia, HZB, has developed an approach that overcomes this limitation. The team designed tiny magnetic flux concentrators (MFCs), into which the sample is placed. The geometry of the MFCs resembles a flower with a number of petals which focus the applied magnetic field into its center. This greatly expands the magnetic field range available during imaging, and so the range of magnetic systems that can be investigated. The micro-flowers, enhancing magnetic fields locally, can find application in different nanometric magnetic microscopy techniques.
- CIGS-perovskite tandem cell achieves record efficiency of 25.5 %A Berlin-based team from HZB and Center for the Science of Materials Berlin (CSMB) at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin has set a new record for a tandem solar cell. Using a combination of a CIGS semiconductor layer and perovskite, along with several optimised intermediate layers, they were able to convert 25.5% of sunlight into electrical energy. The previous record for this combination of materials and this size of cell stood at 24.6%. The new record has been certified and is visible in the prestigious Solar Cell Efficiency Tables (the "Green Tables"), which serve as the definitive ledger for the global photovoltaic community.