#perovskites
Speeding perovskite solar cell development with machine learning
MIT and Stanford researchers are employing artificial intelligence to test perovskites in pursuit of a commercially viable PV cell manufacturing process.
https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/04/15/speeding-perovskite-solar-cell-development-with-machine-learning/
#pv, #technology, #mit, #perovskites, #energy, #r&d, #renewable
Transistors can be made out of perovskites, the material people keep saying will be used for solar cells yet we still never see them anywhere. Anyway, scientists "have found a solution to the perovskite problem, enabling the material to work as a transistor at room temperature. The device has been 'tricked' into ignoring the material's ion content by shunting these electrically charged species away from the gate to a different part of the transistor, where they can't interfere with the flow of current."
"We modified the construction of the transistors instead of modifying the material, resulting in a transistor with an extra, auxiliary gate. Ions are then pushed to the auxiliary gate and fixed in position."
"The auxiliary gate was created by depositing a ferroelectric layer onto the transistor. Ferroelectrics (dielectric materials that show stable polarisation when the external electric field is turned off) can induce a large surface charge that attracts ions and holds them in position, thereby freeing up the gate for the flow of electrons."
The article touts this development as "green" but fails to mention that perovskites are usually made with toxic heavy metals such as lead. I don't think they are really "green" but they are touted as "green" in solar cells because they are so much cheaper than silicon solar panels, which should theoretically lead to them being everywhere. My understanding is that the reason this hasn't happened is because perovskite solar cells wear out quickly while silicon lasts for decades.
Still, as CMOS transistors hit their limits, the world is looking for alternatives to silicon, and it's interesting to know it's possible to make transistors with perovskites. I never would've expected that.
Perovskite: the material that allows a greener fabrication of transistors
