Eco Factor: Cost-efficient solar cell generates more electricity.
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have created a new type of flexible solar cell that is both inexpensive and more efficient than conventional cells available on the market. The new cell is made using arrays of long, thin silicon wires that are embedded in a polymer substrate.
The new cell promises enhanced sunlight absorption and efficient conversion of photons into electrons. Moreover, since the cell uses only a fraction of expensive semiconductor materials, they’re inexpensive to manufacture as well. The researchers claim that the silicon-wire arrays absorb up to 96 percent of incident light and are able to convert between 90 to 100 percent of the photons they absorb into electrons.
The silicon wires measure between 30 and 100 microns in length and are only 1 micron in diameter. The prototype cell developed by the researchers is square centimeters in size, which the researchers hope to increase to hundreds of square centimeters – the size of a normal cell.
Via: Gizmag
