Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have developed a radically new design for a concentrator solar cell that, when irradiated from the side, generates solar conversion efficiencies that can exceed an ultra-efficient 40% conversion with intensities equal to 10,000 suns. Typically a concentrator solar cell consists of multiple layers of semiconductor materials stacked on on top of the other.  These are connected in series and electricity is generated by the different materials as light of different wavelengths passes through them. These concentrators are complex and difficult to manufacture and have efficiency limitations. The new type of concentrator cell also … Continue Reading →

Researchers at RTI International in North Carolina have reported in Applied Physics Letters that they have developed a new solar technology that could make solar energy more affordable. The RTI solar cells (technically, planar PbS quantum dot/C60 heterojunction photovoltaic devices) are formed from solutions of semiconductor particles, known as colloidal quantum dots, and can have a power conversion efficiency that is competitive to traditional cells at a fraction of the cost. The solar cells were created using low-cost materials and manufacturing techniques. The cells can be manufactured using high volume roll-to-roll processing and inexpensive coating processes, which reduces capital costs … Continue Reading →

Scientists from Princeton University have reported in Nature Photonics that they have used microscopic folds on the surface of photovoltaic material to significantly increase the power output of flexible, low-cost solar cells. The team reported  that the folds resulted in a 47% increase in electricity generation. To create the folds, the researchers used ultraviolet light to harden a layer of liquid photographic adhesive, a process called curing. By controlling how fast different sections of the adhesive cured, the team was able to introduce stresses in the material and generate ripples in the surface. The shallower ripples were classified as wrinkles and … Continue Reading →

Dr Mark Bissett, from Flinders University in South Australia, has developed a solar cell using transparent carbon nanotubes that can be sprayed onto windows. The solar cell is created by taking two sheets of electrically conductive glass and sandwiching a layer of functionalised single-walled carbon nanotubes between the glass sheets. The nanotube cells can be applied to windows without blocking light, and are flexible enough to be weaved into a range of other materials. Carbon nanotubes are cheaper and more efficient than silicon-based solar cells. According to Dr Bissett, they could eventually supply much of the electricity used in skyscrapers … Continue Reading →

A Californian company, Twin Creeks Technologies, has developed a technology which it claims could halve the cost of pphotovoltaic cells and make solar pv technology price competitive with fossil fuels. Currently, most photovoltaic cells are made by slicing blocks of silicon into 200 micron thick wafers. Electrodes are attached and the silicon wafers are covered with protective glass. Because silicon crystals are brittle, it cannot be sliced thinner than 200 microns. And the process of slicing it wastes almost half of the silicon as "sawdust". In the Twin Creeks technology, standard wafers of silicon are bombarded with high energy protons. … Continue Reading →

Swiss company Oerlikon Solar has announced that it has developed of a new “ThinFab” thin film solar production method that it says could drive costs down to around 70 cents per watt. Costs have been generally around $1.50 per watt for some time although First Solar announced in February 2009 that it had achieved the "holy grail" of $1 per watt. Dr Jurg Henz, Oerlikon Solar CEO, said that “our technology offers the lowest energy payback time compared to other crystalline technologies and is not based on limited resources.”