​太陽電池デバイス・ペロブスカイト太陽電池について（ソヘル）

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​Solar photovoltaic (PV) can directly harness power of the Sun by turning sunlight into electricity. Thus it is the most attractive technology for the shift to a “decarbonized society”. The main PV cells used commercially are silicon solar cells (stable for more than 20 years). However, they require high processing costs and energy-demanding facilities to fabricate. These costs and energy must be quickly reduced to accelerate the transition to a “low-carbon society”, using novel materials that are lower in cost, lighter, and flexible than silicon. As such materials, organic-inorganic hybrid halide perovskites came to light due to their outstanding material properties and low manufacturing costs (ease of processing in liquid solutions), lighter weight and greater flexibility, practicalized perovskite solar cells (PSCs) will replace silicon ones and help realize a decarbonized society. Recent development of PSCs has achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 27% despite their poor stability (a few hours). It is close to PCE of silicon solar cells (27.3%). Significant challenges are:

① Lack of scalable (large-area) manufacturing for perovskite films,

② Limited stability (few hours) in typical environments,

③ Perovskite films are made in glove box conditions (e.g., Ar, N2), which raises manufacturing costs, and

④ The absence of a lead (Pb) toxicity-recovery system.

These issues have hindered application of perovskites to other optoelectronic devices such as light-emitting diodes, transistors, and sensors. The key challenge is scaling up perovskite solar modules for mass production. Roll-to-roll (R2R)-compatible technologies offer a key advantage over Si solar cells with its potential for low-cost, energy-efficient manufacturing using solution-based methods like bar-coating, spray-coating, and blade-coating, slot-die coating and so on (M. Shahiduzzaman et al. Materials Today 2024). Their lightweight and flexible nature makes them perfect for emerging applications like building-integrated PV (BIPV), agrivoltaics, windows, space, and vehicle-integrated PV, where a high power-to-weight ratio is important. Another main challenge is understanding the degradation mechanisms. PSCs degrade due to structural and chemical changes when exposed to multiple factors like moisture, heat, and UV light (M. Shahiduzzaman et al. Chem. Eng. J. 2021). This makes improving stability difficult.

We offer world-class facilities for device fabrication from bare glass to PSC devices and comprehensive characterization. Researchers are free to pursue their preferred topics and are encouraged to explore cutting-edge research in PSCs. Anyone passionate about advancing science regardless of their background in physics, chemistry, materials science, or related fields is warmly welcome to join us.