Researchers from multiple U.S. universities have collaborated to create a groundbreaking thermo-optical system that could potentially push solar cell efficiency beyond 80%. The findings were recently published in *Nature Communications* on October 16, marking a significant leap forward in renewable energy technology.
Traditional silicon-based solar cells only capture infrared light, while higher-energy wavelengths—such as most of the visible spectrum—are lost as heat. This inefficiency limits their theoretical maximum efficiency to around 34%, but in practice, they rarely exceed 15% to 20%. Despite years of advancements, this bottleneck has remained a major challenge for the industry.
To tackle this issue, researchers from Stanford University, the University of Illinois, and North Carolina State University have developed a novel thermo-optical system. According to Professor Yan Fan from Stanford’s Electrical Engineering Department, the key lies in focusing sunlight into a narrow band of the thermal radiation spectrum that can be efficiently converted into electricity. If achieved, this could theoretically boost solar cell efficiency to an impressive 80%.
Unlike conventional systems, the new design first concentrates sunlight into infrared light, which is then used to power the solar cell. The system includes an intermediate component made of two parts: an absorber that heats up under sunlight, and a transmitter that converts the heat into infrared light, which is then directed at the solar cell.
The critical challenge in this process is maintaining the nanostructure of the material at high temperatures. In early experiments, tungsten emitters—used to produce the infrared light—collapsed when heated to around 1,000°C. To solve this, researchers from the University of Illinois coated the tungsten with cerium dioxide, a ceramic material. This innovation allowed the emitter to remain stable at 1,000°C for 12 hours and even survived 1 hour at 1,400°C without losing its structural integrity.
This breakthrough marks the first time that ceramic materials have been shown to play a crucial role in thermo-optoelectronics. Beyond solar applications, these materials could also enhance residual heat utilization, high-temperature catalysis, and electrochemical energy storage. Scientists are now exploring other ceramic options to find the best emitters for solar cells.
With abundant natural reserves of thallium and tungsten, and the manufacturing techniques for heat-resistant emitters already well-established, this discovery holds great promise. Researchers believe it will significantly advance the field of thermo-optoelectronics and encourage further exploration of new ceramic materials in this area. (Reporter: He Wei)
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