經(jīng)過40年的探索，科學家發(fā)現(xiàn)了太陽能電池板效率的一個關鍵缺陷

經(jīng)過40年的探索，科學家發(fā)現(xiàn)了太陽能電池板效率的一個關鍵缺陷

Solar panels are fantastic pieces of technology, but we need to work out how to make them even more efficient – and last year, scientists solved a 40-year-old mystery around one of the key obstacles to increased efficiency.

太陽能電池板是一項了不起的技術(shù)，但我們需要研究出如何讓它們更有效率——去年，科學家們解開了一個40年之久的謎團，它是提高效率的關鍵障礙之一。

The 2019 study outlined a material defect in silicon used to produce solar cells that has previously gone undetected. It could be responsible for the 2 percent efficiency drop that solar cells can see in the first hours of use: Light Induced Degradation (LID).

2019年的研究概述了用于生產(chǎn)太陽能電池的硅材料的一個缺陷，而這一缺陷此前一直未被發(fā)現(xiàn)。這可能是太陽能電池在使用的最初幾個小時內(nèi)效率下降2%的原因:光引起的降解(LID)。

Multiplied by the increasing number of panels installed at solar farms around the world, that drop equals a significant cost in gigawatts that non-renewable energy sources have to make up for.

再乘以世界各地太陽能發(fā)電廠安裝的太陽能電池板數(shù)量的增加，這一下降相當于不可再生能源必須彌補的數(shù)十億瓦的巨大成本。

In fact, the estimated loss in efficiency worldwide from LID is estimated to equate to more energy than can be generated by the UK's 15 nuclear power plants. The new discovery could help scientists make up some of that shortfall.

事實上，據(jù)估計，LID在全球范圍內(nèi)造成的效率損失相當于英國15座核電站的發(fā)電量。這項新發(fā)現(xiàn)可以幫助科學家彌補部分不足。

Because of the environmental and financial impact solar panel 'efficiency degradation' has been the topic of much scientific and engineering interest in the last four decades, said one of the researchers, Tony Peaker from the University of Manchester in the UK, back in June 2019.

其中一名研究人員、英國曼徹斯特大學的托尼•皮克(Tony Peaker)在2019年6月表示:“由于環(huán)境和財政影響，太陽能電池板的‘效率下降’在過去40年里一直是科學和工程領域的熱門話題。”

However, despite some of the best minds in the business working on it, the problem has steadfastly resisted resolution until now.

“然而，盡管業(yè)內(nèi)一些最優(yōu)秀的人才在致力于解決這個問題，但直到現(xiàn)在，這個問題一直未能得到解決。”

To find what 270 research papers across four decades had previously been unable to determine, the latest study used an electrical and optical technique called deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) to find weaknesses in the silicon.

為了找到過去40年里270篇研究論文無法確定的東西，最新的研究使用了一種被稱為深能級瞬變光譜(deep-level transient, DLTS)的光電技術(shù)來發(fā)現(xiàn)硅的弱點。

Here's what the DLTS analysis found: As the electronic charge in the solar cells gets transformed from sunlight, the flow of electrons gets trapped; in turn, that reduces the level of electrical power that can be produced.

DLTS分析發(fā)現(xiàn):當太陽能電池中的電荷從陽光中轉(zhuǎn)換時，電子流被捕獲;反過來，又降低了可生產(chǎn)的電力水平。

This defect lies dormant until the solar panel gets heated, the team found.

研究小組發(fā)現(xiàn)，這個缺陷在太陽能板加熱之前一直處于休眠狀態(tài)。

We've proved the defect exists, it's now an engineering fix that is needed, said one of the researchers, Iain Crowe from the University of Manchester.

“我們已經(jīng)證明了缺陷的存在，現(xiàn)在需要的是一個工程上的修正。”來自曼徹斯特大學的研究人員伊恩·克羅(Iain Crowe)說。

The researchers also found that higher quality silicon had charge carriers (electrons which carry the photon energy) with a longer 'lifetime', which backs up the idea that these traps are linked to the efficiency degradation.

研究人員還發(fā)現(xiàn)，高質(zhì)量的硅有更長“壽命”的載流子(攜帶光子能量的電子)，這支持了這些陷阱與效率降低有關的觀點。

What's more, heating the material in the dark, a process often used to remove traps from silicon, seems to reverse the degradation.

更重要的是，在黑暗中加熱材料，這一過程通常用來清除硅的陷阱，似乎可以逆轉(zhuǎn)降解。

The work to push solar panel efficiency rates higher continues, with breakthroughs continuing to happen in the lab, and nature offering up plenty of efficiency tips as well. Now that the Light Induced Degradation mystery has been solved, solar farms across the globe should benefit.

提高太陽能電池板效率的工作仍在繼續(xù)，實驗室的突破仍在繼續(xù)，《自然》雜志也提供了許多提高效率的建議。既然光引起的退化之謎已經(jīng)被解決了，全球的太陽能發(fā)電廠都應該從中受益。

An absolute drop of 2 percent in efficiency may not seem like a big deal, but when you consider that these solar panels are now responsible for delivering a large and exponentially growing fraction of the world's total energy needs, it's a significant loss of electricity generating capacity, said Peaker.

他說:“百分之二的絕對效率下降可能看起來不是什么大問題，但是當你考慮到這些太陽能電池板現(xiàn)在負責提供世界總能源需求的一個巨大和指數(shù)增長的部分，則是發(fā)電能力的重大損失。”

The research has been published in the Journal of Applied Physics.

這項研究發(fā)表在《應用物理學雜志》上。