How to slim down solar cells

Sunlight is one of the factors necessary for the growth and life of all things. It seems to be inexhaustible. Therefore, solar energy has become the most optimistic "future" energy source after wind energy and water energy. The reason for adding the "future" prefix is that solar energy is still in its infancy. And although solar energy resources have many advantages, the domestic solar energy industry has been in surplus due to weak energy conversion capabilities and insufficient utilization of resources.

The development of solar energy can probably be traced back to the mid-19th century. At that time, the invention of using steam power to generate electrical energy made people realize that thermal energy and electrical energy can be converted into each other, and solar energy is the most direct source of generating thermal energy. Up to now, solar panels are probably the most widely used in the civilian market. They can absorb sunlight and convert solar radiation energy directly or indirectly into electrical energy through the photoelectric effect or photochemical effect.

Most of today’s smart electronic products use rechargeable lithium batteries. Especially mobile electronic devices, because they are lightweight, portable and have many application functions, users are not restricted by environmental conditions during use, and the operation time is long. Therefore, lithium batteries have become the most common choice despite their battery life weaknesses.

Compared with lithium batteries, one of the disadvantages of solar cells is obvious, that is, they cannot be separated from the sunlight. The conversion of solar energy into electrical energy is synchronized with the sunlight in real time. Therefore, for solar energy, it can only be used during the day or even only on sunny days. However, unlike lithium batteries, as long as they are fully charged, they can be completely freed from the constraints of time and environment and can be used flexibly.

Difficulties in “downsizing” solar cells

Because solar cells themselves cannot store electrical energy, which is a very big bug for practical applications, the researchers came up with the idea to use solar cells in conjunction with ultra-large-capacity batteries. Lead-acid batteries are the most commonly used type of solar power supply system. Class large capacity battery. The combination of the two products makes the already quite large solar cell become even more "large". If you want to apply it to mobile devices, you must first go through the process of "downsizing".

Because the energy conversion rate is not high, the sunlight area of ​​solar cells is usually large, which is the first major technical difficulty faced in their "downsizing" journey. The current limit of solar energy conversion rate is about 24%. Compared with expensive solar panel production, unless it is used on a large area, its practicality will be greatly reduced, let alone used in mobile devices.

Because the energy conversion rate is not high, the sunlight area of ​​solar cells is usually larger.

How to "slim down" solar cells?

Combining solar cells with recyclable lithium batteries is one of the current research and development directions of scientific researchers, and it is also an effective way to mobilize solar cells. The most common solar cell portable product is the power bank. By converting light energy into electrical energy and storing it in the built-in lithium battery, the solar power bank can charge mobile phones, digital cameras, tablets and other products, which is both energy-saving and environmentally friendly.

Solar cells that can truly achieve industrialization are mainly divided into two categories: the first category is crystalline silicon cells, including polycrystalline silicon and monocrystalline silicon cells, which account for more than 80% of the market share; the second category is thin film cells, which are further subdivided into Amorphous silicon cells have a simple process and low cost, but their efficiency is low and there are signs of decline.

Thin film solar cells are only a few millimeters thick and can be bent and folded. They can also use a variety of different materials as substrate materials. They can be directly connected to lithium batteries for charging, which means that solar cells can be developed into new environmentally friendly chargers. It's still very possible. Moreover, this type of charger can be presented in different shapes, making it more convenient to carry. For example, hanging on a school bag or clothes can charge a mobile phone, and the battery life problem is easily solved.

Many developers now believe that lithium batteries made of graphene are an important breakthrough in solving the battery life problem of mobile electronic devices. If the conversion rate of solar cells per unit area can be effectively improved, then the cool form of mobile charging anytime and anywhere will become the future energy source. Perfect way to apply questions.

Summary: Solar energy is nature's most generous gift, but the use of solar energy is not yet very popular. There are still problems with high cost and low conversion efficiency in using solar energy to generate electricity. Only by effectively increasing the conversion rate of solar energy per unit area can we effectively utilize energy and achieve a perfect transition from solar energy to electric energy. By then, the mobility of solar cells will no longer be a problem.