Development of Transfer Technology for 'Solar Cells' Worn Like Clothes

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Junho] Domestic researchers have developed a technology that allows wearable devices or solar cells to be attached to clothes or paper. The commercialization of wearable devices that can be worn like clothing is expected to be accelerated.

Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology announced on the 20th that the research team led by Professor Lee Dong-seon from the Department of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering developed a "transfer technology for CZTSSe (Copper-Zinc-Tin-Sulfur-Selenium) flexible thin-film solar cells that can be attached regardless of the type of substrate such as clothes, paper, or PET."

The research team developed a technology to transfer CZTSSe thin-film solar cells onto flexible substrates. CZTSSe thin-film solar cells involve a high-temperature process exceeding 500 degrees Celsius. Therefore, metal foil or thin ceramics were typically used to make flexible solar cells.

However, the research team attached the CZTSSe thin-film solar cells onto a glass substrate and removed the glass by mechanical etching and hydrofluoric acid wet etching. Then, they devised a flexible solar cell that can be attached anywhere by creating a protective layer with thermal release tape.

The research team stated, "Even after transfer by this method, the solar cells maintained more than 91% of their power generation performance."

Professor Lee Dong-seon said, "The transfer method for flexible thin-film solar cells developed in this study can be applied not only to CZTSSe thin-film solar cells but also to other thin-film solar cells," adding, "It has limitless applications such as integration with wearable devices, Internet of Things, and drones."

The results of this study were published on the 10th in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, an international journal in the field of applied materials published by the American Chemical Society.