Stock Photo - 03 May 2022, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle (Saale): In the photovoltaics group of the Institute of Physics at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, physics lab technician Thomas Richter checks miniature solar cells measuring 2.5 by 2.5 centimeters that have been coated in a sputtering system and inserted into a sample holder. At the institute, new thin-film materials for novel solar cells are currently being researched under the direction of photovoltaics chair Roland Scheer as part of a European research project. In a tandem design, they are to achieve higher efficiencies together with conventional silicon technology. The photovoltaics group is collaborating with universities and institutes in Sweden, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Magdeburg, among others, as well as module manufacturers and the Helmholtz Center. Photo: Waltraud Grubitzsch/dpa-Zentralbild/ZB. - Halle (Saale)/Saxony-Anhalt/Germany