Researchers at the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) reported creating innovative solar cells with a record efficiency of almost 40% in normal light.By comparison, the efficiency of conventional photovoltaic cells ranges from 15% to 30%.Image source: NRELIt is noteworthy that the 39.5% figure is achieved in lighting that is generally equivalent to natural sunlight.This clarification is important because during the experiments, scientists often manage to achieve efficiencies up to 47%, but only under \"concentrated\" light, which does not correspond to the natural conditions of the Earth.To achieve this result was achieved thanks to a special design of the elements known as an inverted metamorphic compound (IMM).It involves the use of three layers of solar cells, each of which is made of a different type of material.Specifically, we are talking about the top layer of indium-gallium phosphide, the middle layer of gallium arsenide, and the bottom layer of indium-gallium arsenide.Each layer captures light at different wavelengths, allowing more energy to be produced using a significant portion of the solar spectrum.In addition, the panels use so-called \"quantum wells,\" which limit the movement of electrons to two dimensions instead of three.It is claimed that the layer with such pits also allows capturing more light and leads to greater energy output.The previous efficiency record for solar panels was set by the same team, achieving a figure of 39.2 percent in 2020 - we are talking about the struggle for every fraction of a percent.Tests have already been conducted to demonstrate how the new cells behave in space.In this case, the efficiency was 34.2 percent.Scientific breakthroughs can be extremely important for solar cell technology.Nevertheless, the developers emphasize that the production of this type of cells is quite expensive and mass production is not planned yet, there is still a lot of work to be done to reduce the cost of cells.
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