Are solar cells scalable?

MIT researchers developed a scalable fabrication technique to produce ultrathin, flexible, durable, lightweight solar cells that can be stuck to any surface. Glued to high-strength fabric, the solar cells are only one-hundredth the weight of conventional cells while producing about 18 times more power-per-kilogram.

Are thin-film solar cells better than conventional solar cells?

The thin-film solar cells weigh about 100 times less than conventional solar cells while generating about 18 times more power-per-kilogram. MIT engineers have developed ultralight fabric solar cells that can quickly and easily turn any surface into a power source.

What is a perovskite solar cell?

Like silicon, the most common material used for solar cells, perovskite produces an electric charge in the presence of sunlight. Scientists around the world have been racing to unlock the benefits of perovskites since the late 2000s.

What are ultralight fabric solar cells?

MIT engineers have developed ultralight fabric solar cells that can quickly and easily turn any surface into a power source. These durable, flexible solar cells, which are much thinner than a human hair, are glued to a strong, lightweight fabric, making them easy to install on a fixed surface.

How are solar cells made?

To produce the solar cells, they use nanomaterials that are in the form of a printable electronic inks. Working in the MIT.nano clean room, they coat the solar cell structure using a slot-die coater, which deposits layers of the electronic materials onto a prepared, releasable substrate that is only 3 microns thick.

How efficient are all-polymer solar cells?

In the 18 August issue of Advanced Materials, researchers led by Alex Jen, a materials scientist at the University of Hong Kong, reported all-polymer solar cells that had an efficiency of 17% and retained 90% of their efficiency under accelerated aging tests. “That is quite notable,” says Bao, whose team also works on all-polymer cells.