When traditional art meets green technology, there's another innovative application of cadmium telluride solar glass

Against the backdrop of carbon neutrality becoming a national strategy, Xinhua News Agency and Delixi Electric, with a cross-border thinking of "technology × art," deeply integrated photovoltaic energy with flowing sand aesthetics, jointly launching the "Photovoltaic Flowing Sand Clock Decorative Painting" which combines functionality and appreciation.

The photovoltaic flowing sand clock decorative painting adopts a double-layer sealed glass structure, with colored flowing sand and cadmium telluride photovoltaic components inside. Each time it is flipped, the flowing sand flows slowly from top to bottom, taking exactly 25 minutes to run out, reminding the user to maintain focus in a visual way.

The core carrier of the device—the color-glazed translucent cadmium telluride solar glass—combines 60% translucent cadmium telluride solar glass with high-precision color glaze printing technology. This ensures the perfect presentation of the design image and brings a transparent visual effect to the hollowed-out parts of the image. At the same time, the embedded LED indicator light in the device will automatically light up when the flowing sand runs out, driven by the electricity generated by the cadmium telluride solar glass, indicating that the rest time has arrived, forming a complete "focus—rest" cycle. Each flip becomes a micro-practice of carbon neutrality.

In the production of this "Photovoltaic Flowing Sand Clock Decorative Painting," exquisite images are paired with irregular hollow designs. To achieve this design, there are several difficulties:

●The solar cells in the hollowed-out parts of the image need to present a transparent visual effect with high precision

●Image printing + hollowing will cause large-area blockage of the solar cell surface

●While ensuring the above two points, the solar cells also need to light up the built-in LED beads indoors

To address the above problems, the design team of the Guangyuan Laboratory selected the more advantageous Cadmium telluride thin-film components , combined with the technical strength of Chengdu China Building Materials in the production and manufacturing of cadmium telluride solar glass, successfully achieving the harmonious coexistence of art and technology.

01

Good appearance coordination

 

Compared with crystalline silicon solar cells, which can only achieve a translucent effect by arranging solar cells at intervals, cadmium telluride solar glass can use laser etching technology to remove the photovoltaic film layer to achieve a semi-transparent effect. Chengdu China Building Materials has its own intellectual property rights for laser scribing technology. The translucent cadmium telluride solar glass produced has uniform and fine scribing lines, making the translucent effect more uniform and transparent.

Crystalline silicon daylighting top VS Cadmium telluride solar glass daylighting top

 

02

Strong anti-blocking performance

 

Cadmium telluride thin-film components adopt a long strip cell design, reducing the hot spot effect, improving power generation capacity while improving product life and safety. This advantage ensures the safety and stability of power generation even if the solar glass is blocked by high-precision images.

 

03

Strong weak light power generation capacity

 

Cadmium telluride, as a direct bandgap material, has an absorption coefficient as high as 10^5/cm or more, which is 100 times that of silicon materials. This means that cadmium telluride thin films have extremely strong light absorption capacity. Therefore, even under the conditions of 60% light transmission + large-area blockage + indoor lighting, cadmium telluride solar glass can still successfully light up the LED beads, adding color to the flowing sand device.

 

Spectral response of different solar cells/Power generation of different cells under low irradiation

 

This innovative work, which integrates green energy, fluid art, and educational practice, can not only be used as a home art piece but also provides a poetic and practical model for technology-empowered education. The birth of this art installation fully demonstrates the advantages of cadmium telluride thin-film components in weak light power generation, anti-blocking, and flexible customization, providing new ideas for further expanding the application scenarios of cadmium telluride solar glass.

Source | Xinhua News Agency, Chengdu China Building Materials