The Physics Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong spent more than two years and successfully developed a new generation of thin-film solar cells with a high rate of electricity generation, using a material that is 50% cheaper than conventional crystalline silicon cells and lighter "copper indium gallium selenide" materials. A three-micron-thick, palm-sized thin-film solar cell can be fully charged for a cell phone in sunlight for three hours.
According to Hong Kong media reports, nine of the solar cells currently on the global market are crystalline silicon cells. A research team headed by Xiao Xudong, a professor at the Department of Physics of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, has been subsidized by HKUST and the HKSAR government for HK$8 million since 2009. Research has been conducted on thin-film solar cells made of “copper indium gallium selenide†materials, which are cheaper and lighter materials. The company has developed a thin-film solar cell with the highest photoelectric conversion efficiency of 17%, which is the highest in the Asia-Pacific region. The ratio has reached the world's highest rate of 20.3%.
Xiao Xudong said that thin-film solar cells manufactured using "copper indium gallium selenide" materials are only three micrometers thick and 50 times thinner than crystalline silicon cells. In terms of production costs, thin-film solar cells also save half the production cost of crystalline silicon cells. Xiao Xudong said that the international market is generally expected that in the next 20 years, the market share of thin film solar cells will rise from 10% to 35%.
As the new thin-film solar cell material is soft and portable, Xiao Xudong said that the thin-film solar cell can be attached to the smooth or uneven surface of any item, such as backpacks, handbags, tents, parasols and other personal items, to charge electronic products anytime, anywhere. “If it is attached to the back of a mobile phone, three hours of exposure to the sun is enough to fill a cell phone or digital camera with a typical capacity of 500 milliamps.â€
Xiao Xudong said that there are companies that have revealed interest in this technology, and it is estimated that it will be able to be introduced to the market in the fastest one and a half years.
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