# CNPEM built a holder for operando X-ray imaging of whole solar cells at the Sirius synchrotron

- Published: 2026-11-05 13:08 UTC
- Section: Science › Instruments & experiments
- Tags: Sirius synchrotron, CARNAÚBA nanoprobe, operando solar cell characterization, X-ray nanoprobe, perovskite solar cells, sample holder thermal drift, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, LNLS CNPEM
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-7708a78c2801704369419bb2_cnpem_built_a/

**The holder keeps a 3 × 3 mm area of a working cell stable under the X-ray beam while heat, light and bias are controlled. Vertical drift was 5 μm over a 120 °C range.**

![CNPEM built a holder for operando X-ray imaging of whole solar cells at the Sirius synchrotron](https://sgzwpqqelzmajkcubgkl.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/rt-media/2026/11/d0a5fe82c54a23bf.jpg)
*NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from Greenbelt, MD, USA, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain*

Researchers at the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) in Campinas, São Paulo state, designed, built and commissioned a photovoltaic holder for the TARUMÃ end station of the CARNAÚBA X-ray nanoprobe at the SIRIUS synchrotron light source (LNLS/CNPEM). The work was published in August in Photon Science, and a news release followed on 4 November 2026. The holder allows complete solar cells to be studied with X-ray microscopy during operation [1].

## Design and operating conditions

The holder was designed with precision-engineering principles to give nanometer-level position stability and minimal thermal drift. It controls temperature in the target area, atmosphere, illumination and bias, which makes it possible to simulate real cell operation [1]. It supports nanoscale X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy [1].

According to the release, the platform is intended mainly for perovskite cells. The cell is built on a glass chip coated on one side with indium tin oxide. The other side carries two thin platinum circuits: one is a heater, the other a temperature sensor. Heating is confined to a 3 × 3 mm area. The mount uses a titanium alloy with low thermal expansion and flexible elements that let the glass expand, and it is thermally decoupled from the sample-positioning stages.

## Test results

Infrared images showed a homogeneous temperature distribution inside the 3 × 3 mm target area [1]. Lead author Rodrigo Szostak reported a relative variation of 0.85 °C at 150 °C.

In tests at Sirius, the sample was cycled between 30 °C and 150 °C for about 20 hours. Horizontal displacement was minimal, about 1 μm according to the release. Vertical displacement reached 5 μm over the 120 °C range and was reversible on return to room temperature [1]. At stable temperatures, the holder's position stability was better than the beam size [1]; the beam is about 200 nm wide.

The set temperature was reached in under two minutes. At 150 °C it held with fluctuations below 0.1 °C for 50 minutes. The indium tin oxide chip can be used up to 150 °C. The authors demonstrated photovoltaic characterization together with chemical and structural mapping by several X-ray microscopy techniques [1]. Szostak said that, as far as he knows from the literature, the holder likely offers the best positional stability achieved for this type of experiment.

## Sources

1. [Photon Science](https://doi.org/10.1021/photonsci.6c00013)
2. [EurekAlert](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1150505)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-7708a78c2801704369419bb2_cnpem_built_a/