Category Archives: Solar

Catalysts to Produce Solar Fuel | Science Daily

Posted on May 7, 2013 by

The energy produced by solar panels, be it heat or electricity, has to be used right away. It is hard to store and preserve and also its transportation can be rather complicated. Creating solar cells capable of producing energy in … Continue reading →

Posted in Batteries, Solar

Lowering Cost of Solar With Room Temperature Passivation Process | MIT

Posted on May 7, 2013 by

Silicon, the material of high-tech devices from computer chips to solar cells, requires a surface coating before use in these applications. The coating “passivates” the material, tying up loose atomic bonds to prevent oxidation that would ruin its electrical properties. … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar

Microwave Oven Cooks Up Solar Cell Material | Science Daily

Posted on May 6, 2013 by

May 6, 2013 — University of Utah metallurgists used an old microwave oven to produce a nanocrystal semiconductor rapidly using cheap, abundant and less toxic metals than other semiconductors. They hope it will be used for more efficient photovoltaic solar … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar

Solar discovery sets new record for low-grade silicon | Phys Org

Posted on May 6, 2013 by

(Phys.org) —Solar engineers from UNSW have developed an innovative method to dramatically improve the quality of low-grade silicon, promising to significantly improve electrical efficiency and reduce the cost of solar panels. The UNSW team has discovered a mechanism to control … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar

Metallurgical-grade Silicon Making Inroads in PV | SEMI

Posted on May 3, 2013 by

In 2006, Dow Corning Corporation announced the development of PV 1101 SoG Silicon, the first commercially available metallurgical feedstock produced using large scale manufacturing processes. Dow announced it was not a replacement for traditional silicon, but needed to be blended … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar

Solar PV R&D: what are researchers working on? | Renewable Energy Focus

Posted on May 3, 2013 by

Although still in the research stage, several new solar-related technologies are close to becoming commercial reality. The largest solar energy research institute in Europe is the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, headquartered in Freiburg Germany. Its director, Professor Eicke … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar

Tuning Quantum Dots and Plasmonic Nanoparticles to Capture Infra-Red | The Varsity

Posted on May 3, 2013 by

A new technique developed by Dr. Ted Sargent and his research group builds off recent advances in nanotechnology that could lead to a possible 11 per cent improvement in solar cell efficiency. Sargent, a U of T electrical engineering professor, … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar

Graphene Multiplies Power of light | Optics.org

Posted on May 3, 2013 by

Graphene can convert a single absorbed photon into “multiple” electrons that can drive electric current – which the ICFO, Barcelona-led research team describe as “a very promising discovery” that makes graphene an important alternative material for light harvesting technologies, now … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar, Super Materials

Pentacene Coating Could Push Solar Cell Efficiency Beyond Shockley-Queisser Limit | Applied Materials

Posted on May 3, 2013 by

Thanks to a new coating developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), solar cells could produce two electrons for every particle of light harvested at the green and blue wavelengths. The research advance could be the key to solar … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar

Record efficiency for black silicon solar cells | Energy Harvesting Journal

Posted on May 3, 2013 by

Scientists at Aalto University, Finland and Fraunhofer ISE, Germany report an efficiency of 18.7% for black silicon solar cells, the highest efficiency reported so far for a black silicon solar cell. The researchers were able to apply a boron diffusion … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar