Chinese scientists have made a breakthrough! Solar cells that look like paper are here

Ultra-thin, bendable solar cells are here! Chinese researchers have developed a technology for rounding edges. Based on this technology, they have developed flexible monocrystalline silicon solar cells that are as thin as paper, 60 microns thick, and can be bent and folded like paper. The relevant research results were published online in the journal Nature on May 24 and were selected as the cover article.

Figure 1. a, The bending radius of the flexible solar cell silicon wafer is less than 5 mm; b, The bending angle of the flexible solar TV exceeds 360 degrees.

Monocrystalline silicon solar cells are the fastest-growing type of solar cells. They have the advantages of long service life, perfect manufacturing process and high conversion efficiency, and are the leading products in the photovoltaic market. "Currently, the market share of monocrystalline silicon solar cells in the photovoltaic market has reached more than 95%," said Di Zengfeng, co-corresponding author of the paper and deputy director of the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

At present, monocrystalline silicon solar cells are mainly used in distributed photovoltaic power stations and ground photovoltaic power stations. If they can be made into flexible solar cells that can be bent, they can be widely used in buildings, backpacks, tents, cars, sailboats and even airplanes, providing lightweight and clean energy for houses, various portable electronic and communication equipment, and transportation vehicles.

Figure 2. Flexible monocrystalline silicon solar cell modules have been successfully applied in near-space vehicles, photovoltaic building integration, automotive photovoltaics and other fields.

Liu Zhengxin, a co-corresponding author of the paper and a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that this study achieved the manufacturing of flexible monocrystalline silicon solar cells through simple process processing and verified the feasibility of mass production on the mass production line, providing a feasible technical route for the development of lightweight and flexible monocrystalline silicon solar cells. At the same time, the large-area flexible photovoltaic modules developed by the research team have been successfully applied to near-space aircraft, building photovoltaic integration, and vehicle photovoltaics.

Science and Technology Daily reporter: Lu Chengkuan

Image source: Official website of Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences