Romania develops third-generation solar cells

Recently, the R&D team of the Surface Science and Nanotechnology Center of the Technical University of Bucharest has used its own research and development equipment to develop the first third-generation solar cell based on carbon nanotubes in Romania, funded by the European Union Fund.

The carbon nanotubes are 40,000 times thinner than the hair strands; the electrical conductivity is 1000 times that of copper; the hardness is the same as that of the diamonds; but the mechanical resistance is 14 times that of the Kevlar synthetic fiber materials. According to local media, the technical achievements achieved by the team have reached the national level and some have reached the international level. Among them, SPFM (Scanning Polarization Force Microscopy) is used to control the angle and interval distribution of nano droplets, and to control the characteristics of corrosion effects on the micron and nanoscale scales. Through pulsed laser ablation technology, different carbon nanostructures are obtained, namely graphene structure, concentric multi-sphere spherical structure and single-walled carbon nanotubes.

The team is also applying for patented technologies in the development of third-generation solar cells, such as the design of carbon nanostructure growth chambers and the use of excimer laser ablation technologies.