Technology:
The development of
new materials to increase the performance of organic solar cells is
accelerating because the printing technology makes it possible to produce
organic thin film solar cells at a very competitive cost. Toshiba developed a
material that utilizes long wave light left unutilized for power generation.
The new material prevents electrons generated by light from going out halfway
by eliminating surface irregularities created in the process to print the power
generation part. Toshiba built a trial organic thin film solar cell using this
new material. The trial cell that is 5 cm square has a generating efficiency of
7.7%, about 1.5 times higher than the generating efficiency of the existing
products. Toshiba wishes to increase the generating efficiency to 10% necessary
for commercialization in two years.
Kyoto University’s
Shinzaburo Ito and Hideo Ohkita developed a cell by combining two kinds of
organic materials - one is liable to become positive if it gets light and the
other tends to collect negative electrons - to increase the voltage to be
generated. In addition, they allowed the new material to absorb more light by
enlarging its molecule. Because the newly developed cell does not need
expensive and precious materials, it can be produced at a lower cost than the
existing products. The trial product is 3 mm in diameter and its generating
efficiency is as low as 2.7%, but they are confident that they will increase
the efficiency to 10% by improving its electrode.
An organic thin
film cell is expected to be mass produced at a cost one third of a silicone
cell, making the generation cost comparable to the generation cost of nuclear
power generation. It can generate even with the room lighting besides being
light and soft. Japanese companies involved in the development of organic thin film
cell are busily occupied with improving printing technology and
microfabrication technology in addition to developing new materials.
A 5 cm square
organic thin film cell Toshiba built on trial. It has a generating capacity of
7.7%, currently the world’s highest generating capacity of this size.
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