Ultra-thin and flexible: New solar panels developed in St. Petersburg

They will reduce the cost of solar cells by reusing the substrate

Ultra-thin flexible solar panels have been created at the St. Petersburg National Research Academic University named after J. I. Alferov (Alferov University). This was reported by the press service of the NTI competence center "Photonics".

The thickness of the batteries is several microns. The development reduces the cost of solar cells.

The epitaxial lift-off method is proposed for the production of thin-film solar cells from gallium arsenide. In this method, a thin film is separated from the substrate by selective etching of the protective layer. This allows the film to be transferred to a flexible carrier and the substrate to be reused, which significantly reduces production costs.
Alexander Goltaev, an employee of the renewable energy laboratory of the Alferov St. Petersburg State Academic University of the Russian Academy of Sciences

The separated layers have high efficiency, flexibility and low weight. This makes it possible to improve the weight and size characteristics of solar cells several times in comparison with similar batteries.

Solar cells can be used with other power sources (electric vehicles, drones, etc.). They will allow recharging batteries during operation.

The development can also be used in remote areas with limited charging capabilities.

Earlier, www1.ru reported that tested Russian solar batteries "Arktika-M".

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