Challenging the Norm: New Solar Cell Model Surpasses 80-Year-Old Equation

Researchers have developed a new analytical model that enhances the understanding and efficiency of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) devices, challenging the longstanding Shockley diode equation. Their findings illuminate how these flexible, low-cost solar cells can achieve higher efficiency by balancing electricity collection and minimizing charge recombination losses.

Physicists at Swansea University and Åbo Akademi University have achieved a major advancement in solar cell technology by creating a new analytical model. This model enhances the understanding and efficiency of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) devices.

For nearly eight decades, the so-called Shockley diode equation has explained how current flows through solar cells; the electrical current that powers up your home or charges the battery bank. However, the new study challenges this traditional understanding of a specific class of next-generation solar cells, namely: thin-film solar cells.