Speeding the development of new solar cells

ISN Research Scientist Giuseppe Romano and ISN-affiliated MIT faculty member Steven Johnson, working with a team from MIT and Google Brain, have developed an improved solar cell simulator that may help speed the development of new solar cell designs. The new system, called a differentiable solar cell simulator, minimizes the standard trial-and-error of previous simulators by offering information on what specific design parameters — layer thickness, material properties, and others — are affecting the simulated cell’s efficiency.
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A computer screen displaying a blue background, illustrating a system for predicting photovoltaic solar cell efficiency.

A new system both predicts the efficiency of new photovoltaic solar cell materials and shows how much different input parameters affect output. Image: MIT News, iStockphoto