Recently, the research team led by Meng Qingbo from the Institute of Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences has achieved a significant breakthrough in the development of next-generation thin-film photovoltaic technology using copper-zinc-tin-sulfur-selenium (CZTSSe). This breakthrough has elevated the officially certified efficiency of CZTSSe solar cells to 16.6%, while also enabling the successful fabrication of high-performance flexible solar cells and modules. This milestone represents a critical advancement for China, as it overcomes a key industrialization barrier in next-generation photovoltaic technology.

CZTSSe materials, composed of abundant elements such as copper, zinc, and tin, offer several advantages, including plentiful resource availability, cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness, and strong resistance to space radiation. The all-thin-film tandem technology based on CZTSSe is poised to play a pivotal role in large-scale energy applications, both terrestrially and in space. Previously, the development of this technology faced challenges due to complex material defects and disordered atomic structures. The team led by Meng Qingbo successfully overcame these hurdles by addressing key scientific issues related to material crystallization, atomic structure control, and defect management, thereby achieving a remarkable leap in efficiency across multiple scales.