Paper highlights need for correctly measuring solar cell efficiency
Monday, February 27, 2012 - 14:00
in Physics & Chemistry
(PhysOrg.com) -- As the pace of solar cell research continues to accelerate, the question for every new design is whats its efficiency? Since measuring how efficiently a solar cell converts sunlight into electricity involves several factors, making a correct measurement can be challenging. Henry Snaith, a physicist at the University of Oxford who designs solar cells, estimates that compounding small mistakes in measuring efficiency can result in overestimations of up to five times that of the actual value.