March 2019

Researchers at Linköping University have developed efficient perovskite near-infrared (NIR) light-emitting diodes. The external quantum efficiency is a record 21.6%. The work was led by Linköping scientist Feng Gao, in close collaboration with colleagues in China, Italy, Singapore and Switzerland.

The external quantum efficiency (the ratio of charge carriers emitted as light over all of those fed into the materials) of light-emitting diodes based on perovskites has until now been limited by defects that arise in the material during manufacture. The defects act as traps for the charge carriers and thus cause energy losses.

Researchers at San Diego State University have found that perovskites can be used as catalysts to spur the chemical reactions necessary to make pharmaceutical drugs. Perovskite materials are said to be exponentially cheaper and more efficient than other catalysts used in drug synthesis. This research is funded by a three-year, $390,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant.

The team explained that photocatalysts today are made using expensive metals, such as iridium, ruthenium, rhodium, platinum, and palladium. These materials are also incredibly sensitive and require costly infrastructure ' such as oxygen-free environments ' that make the process of creating pharmaceuticals even more expensive. But perovskites, inexpensive hybrid materials with an organic and inorganic framework, can be used as photocatalysts.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced funding of up to $130 million for new research to advance early-stage solar technologies.

This funding program targets five research areas: photovoltaics (PV), concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP), soft costs reduction, innovations in manufacturing, and solar systems integration. These projects will aim to make solar energy more affordable, reliable, and secure, while working to boost domestic solar manufacturing, reduce red tape, and make PV more resilient to cyberattack.

Researchers from the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg in Germany, the University of Munich (LMU) and Newcastle University in the UK have developed a practical tool for solution-based perovskite processing.

The team developed a unique method based on the deposition of size-controlled Al2O3 or SiO2 nanoparticles. By enhancing the surface energy, they act as a universal wetting agent. This allows perovskite precursor solutions to be spread evenly over various substrates, including problematic hydrophobic Si-wafers or fullerene self-assembled monolayers (C60-SAMs).

University of Groningen scientists, led by Professor of Photophysics and Optoelectronics Maria Antonietta Loi, have designed a way to use the perovskite formamidinium lead iodide with a blade and a dipping solution, solving the problem of getting the correct stable crystal structure.

"This formamidinium lead iodide material has very good characteristics, but the A position formamidinium ion causes instability in the structure," explains Loi. Three-dimensional films made from this material most often turn out to be a mixture of a photoactive and a photoinactive phase, the latter being detrimental to the final application. Loi therefore set her Ph.D. student Sampson Adjokatse to work to find a solution.

Oxford Photovoltaics and Meyer Burger Technology have entered into a strategic partnership and signed an exclusive cooperation agreement to jointly accelerate the development of mass production technology for perovskite on silicon heterojunction (HJT) tandem solar cells.

Meyer Burger and Oxford PV agreed to combine Meyer Burger's leading HJT and SmartWire Connection technology with Oxford PV's perovskite solar cell technology. Meyer Burger will sell a 200 MW HJT line for the pilot production of tandem cells that will be ramped up by the end of 2020 in Oxford PV's Brandenburg an der Havel facility. The initial tandem solar cell efficiency target for the 200 MW pilot production line will be 27%. The characteristics of Meyer Burger's HJT cells make them the perfect bottom cells for Oxford PV's perovskite top cell layers.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad, India, have fabricated a perovskite-based low-cost, ultra-sensitive device that is capable of detecting the cardiac biomarker troponin T protein. Troponin T is a cardiac protein that is released into the bloodstream after a heart attack.

Unlike the commercially available test that can detect the protein at nanogram per ml concentration, this device can reportedly detect the protein at an extremely low concentration of femto gram per ml. This could help pave the way for early diagnosis of a heart attack, increasing a patient's survival rate. It even has the potential to be able to predict the onset of a heart attack.

gpvdm is a free cross-platform opto-electronic device simulation tool that can simulate many device types, including OPVs and OLED devices.

In its latest version, the developers added support for perovskite solar cells. The software tool contains both electrical model and optical models to produce accurate and predictive device simulations. For more information on gpvdm click here.

Oxford PV recently announced first close of Series D funding round, attracting major new investment and continued support from existing shareholders. The Company raised £31 Million - around $41 Million USD.

The round includes a major new investment from Goldwind, the leading provider of integrated renewable energy solutions in China, as well as investment from existing shareholders including Equinor and Legal & General Capital.

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a microfluidic system for synthesizing perovskite quantum dots across the entire spectrum of visible light. The system is said to drastically reduce manufacturing costs, can be tuned on demand to any color and allows for real-time process monitoring to ensure quality control.

Quantum dots (QDs) are promising materials for applications ranging from biological sensing and imaging to LED displays and solar energy harvesting. The new system can be used to continuously manufacture high-quality QDs for use in these applications. "We call this system the Nanocrystal (NC) Factory, and it builds on the NanoRobo microfluidic platform that we unveiled in 2017," says Milad Abolhasani, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at NC State and corresponding author of the study.