16.6%! Ten world records broken! Significant breakthrough in new thin-film photovoltaic technology

On the 25th, a reporter learned from the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, that researcher Meng Qingbo’s team has made another breakthrough in the field of new thin-film photovoltaics. They increased the authoritative certification of the photoelectric conversion efficiency of copper zinc tin sulfide selenide (CZTSSe) cells to 16.6%, and completed the development of high-performance flexible batteries and modules. This is the 10th time they have set a new world record in this field, marking China’s leading position globally in new thin-film photovoltaics and crossing a critical threshold toward industrialization.

CZTSSe is a new type of thin-film photovoltaic material considered an important choice for large-scale applications on land and in space in the future. However, due to the presence of multiple elements, the material tends to have complex defects, irregular atomic arrangements, and significant internal energy losses.

To address these challenges, Meng Qingbo led the team to overcome key technical issues such as material crystallization, atomic structure regulation, and defect control. In 2022, the team first broke through the bottleneck of 13% photoelectric conversion efficiency in CZTSSe photovoltaics. Over the next three years, they continuously achieved efficiency breakthroughs of 14%, 15%, and 16%, and completed the development of high-performance flexible batteries and modules.

According to the development pattern of thin-film photovoltaics, reaching a photoelectric conversion efficiency of 15% to 16% is a critical step toward industrialization. Currently, the efficiency of CZTSSe photovoltaic technology has reached 16.6%. Coupled with the inherent advantages of the material itself, this technology has now crossed the key threshold for industrialization.

Science and Technology Daily reporter: Lu Chengkuan. Photo provided by the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.