# CNPEM builds Sirius platform to X-ray complete solar cells under heat and humidity at nanoscale

- Published: 2026-11-08 17:05 UTC
- Section: Power & Energy › Energy
- Tags: perovskite solar cells, Sirius synchrotron, CNPEM, operando X-ray measurements, solar cell degradation, CARNAÚBA beamline, sample holder, nanoscale imaging
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-edb10fb13423d3fa2fab16c5_cnpem_builds_sirius/

**Researchers at Brazil's CNPEM made a sample holder for the Sirius synchrotron that keeps a complete cell in a 200 nm X-ray beam while it is heated, lit and humidified.**

![CNPEM builds Sirius platform to X-ray complete solar cells under heat and humidity at nanoscale](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/693bdc602ea4ec20.jpg)
*agencia.fapesp.br*

Scientists at the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) in Campinas, São Paulo state, developed an instrument for the Sirius particle accelerator that observes the interior of solar cells at nanoscale while they operate, according to agencia.fapesp.br [1]. Instead of isolated components, the platform examines complete devices generating electricity. It simulates daily exposure to light, heat and humidity [1].

The study was published in August in the journal Photon Science. Its first author, Rodrigo Szostak of the Brazilian National Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS-CNPEM), said the aim was to reproduce normal operating conditions and use the techniques available at Sirius to see what happens inside the material [1].

## Measurements on a working cell

The platform was designed primarily for perovskite solar cells. During operation their material is not static: light, heat, humidity and electrical voltage can change its structure and composition. Some changes are reversible, others can contribute to degradation of the device [1].

According to Szostak, the team can measure the efficiency of the device while varying temperature and humidity, and at the same time use X-ray techniques to examine chemical composition, morphology, atomic structure and electronic structure [1]. Because X-rays penetrate the device, its layers can be examined with minimal sample preparation [1]. The station, TARUMÃ on the CARNAÚBA beamline, offers X-ray fluorescence, diffraction and absorption measurements. A compact chamber allows different gases to be supplied and humidity to be monitored.

## Keeping the sample in the beam

The beam is about 200 nanometers wide. Repeated exposure to X-rays can heat, expand and displace the device, and even a barely perceptible shift can move the selected region out of the field of view [1].

The solar cell is built on a small chip: a glass substrate coated on one side with indium tin oxide. On the other side are two thin platinum circuits, one serving as a heater and the other as a temperature sensor [1]. Heating is concentrated in an area of 3 by 3 millimeters. Infrared camera tests showed that at 150 °C the relative temperature variation in this area was 0.85 °C, Szostak reported [1].

The mount uses a titanium alloy with low thermal expansion and flexible elements that let the glass expand without accumulating stress that could break it. The system is thermally decoupled from the structures that move the sample, which reduces heat transfer and unwanted displacement [1]. Initial experiments, as described by scinexx, showed that electrical characteristics and microscopic changes can be recorded on the same cell.

## Sources

1. [agencia.fapesp.br](https://agencia.fapesp.br/a-new-instrument-at-brazils-sirius-accelerator-enables-researchers-to-observe-solar-cells-in-operation/59529)
2. [scinexx](https://www.scinexx.de/news/technik/roentgenblick-zeigt-das-innere-von-solarzellen-im-betrieb)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-edb10fb13423d3fa2fab16c5_cnpem_builds_sirius/