The University of New South Wales’ ARC Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence previously held a record for the highest solar cell efficiency of 24.7% which has been lately modified by the same centre to 25%. This is just one among the six records achieved by the newly devised cells. With this the International Standard of measurement of efficiency of the solar cells has also been changed.

Prof. Martin Green who led the group attributed the improved efficiency of the cell to the new facts unveiled about the constitution of sunlight. The standard color spectrum which was used to measure the capacity of the solar cells was revised in April and according to it, the energy of the blue light which is absorbed strongly only when it’s closer to the cell surface is higher compared to the previous spectrum and the reverse happened with the red light. The new silicon cell thus has 6% more efficiency compared to its previous counterpart and also has a theoretical efficiency of 29% which is the highest till now.

Prof. Green feels that the efforts made to make the cells suitable for trapping more light have made them thicker and the team is now working with CSG Solar to make them thinner so that they can be made suitable for commercial use.

Via ScienceAlert