Plastic Solar Cells
Fluorescent Organic Dye Boosts Light Absorption, Recycles Electrons in Solar Cells
16 May 2013POSTED IN Research
Adding fluorescent organic squaraine dye into polymer solar cells considerably boosts light absorption and recycles electrons, scientists at Yale University have discovered. Consequentially, power conversion efficiency (PCE) increased by 38% in the experiments.
Pentacene Coating Could Push Solar Cell Efficiency Beyond Shockley-Queisser Limit
25 April 2013POSTED IN Research
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 cell efficiencies beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit, which proposes that the ultimate conversion efficiency can never exceed 34% for a single optimised semiconductor junction.
Neutron Scattering Technique May Increase Thin-Film Solar Efficiency
11 March 2013POSTED IN Research
Engineers and scientists from the University of Sheffield, UK, have pioneered a new technique — called SERGIS — to measure the structure of PCBM crystallites (a fullerene derivative of the C60 buckyball) in thin-film solar cell materials, which will ultimately help to make the cells more efficient.
If Darwin Had Designed a Solar Cell…
11 February 2013POSTED IN Research
Using a mathematical search algorithm based on natural evolution, researchers at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois (US) have designed a geometrically patterned light-scattering layer that could make organic solar cells more efficient and less expensive by maximizing the time light is trapped in the device.
First All-Carbon Solar Cell Could Excel in Extreme Conditions
15 November 2012POSTED IN Research
Chemical Engineers at Stanford University in California (US) have built the first solar cell made entirely of carbon, a material considered promising by photovoltaics researchers for its high performance, low cost and earth-abundance. In addition to building an efficient thin-film solar cell that can be coated inexpensively from solutions, the Stanford team expects their devices to be particularly stable in harsh environmental, chemical and physical conditions.
Next-Generation Anti-Reflective Coatings
03 November 2012POSTED IN Research
The next generation of antireflection (AR) coatings has arrived and could help bump solar cell efficiency considerably by employing a promising new class of optical nanomaterials that allow for near-arbitrary control of the refractive index, conceivably the most important materials constant in optics and optoelectronics. Could these advanced coatings present a critical forward push for solar photovoltaics toward becoming a mainstream source of worldwide electrical power generation?
Multiple Exciton Generation Boosts Solar Efficiency
30 October 2012POSTED IN Research
Scientists from the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have demonstrated the first high-efficiency quantum dot solar cell (QDSC) with an external quantum efficiency (EQE) exceeding 100% for photons with energies in the solar range. Moreover, these QDSCs, which potentially could be fabricated at very low cost, could reach 44% efficiency through Multiple Exciton Generation (MEG). Current commercial technologies are limited to 31%.
How Solvent Mixtures Affect Organic Solar Cell Structure
12 October 2012POSTED IN Research
Physicists from the North Carolina State University (NC State) in the US, in collaboration with teams of scientists from the United Kingdom, Australia and China, studied whether controlling the mixing between acceptor and donor layers (or domains) in polymer-based solar cells could increase their efficiency.
Lamination Technique May Result in Cheaper, Better OPV Devices
09 October 2012POSTED IN Research
A researcher at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia, is taking a new approach to fabricating large-scale plastic solar cells, a lamination technique. Potentially, this promising alternative to the existing sandwich process is not only cheaper, easier (it does not require vacuum conditions) and faster but will produce better performing organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices.
Highly Transparent Polymer Cell Converts Infrared Solar Radiation
07 August 2012POSTED IN Research
An interdisciplinary group of researchers from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in the US developed a high-performance polymer solar cell (PSC) that is highly transparent in the visible light range and produces energy by absorbing near-infrared and infrared radiation from the solar spectrum.
Ascent Solar Provides BIPV Modules for Foxconn
06 August 2012POSTED IN Applications News
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., a developer of state-of-the-art, flexible thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules, announced today that it has been selected to provide building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solar modules in a pilot application at Foxconn's new factory in Zhenzhou City, Henan Province, China. Foxconn is one of the largest makers of electronic devices and produces many products including the iPad, iPhone, Kindle, Playstation and Xbox.
Plasmonic Welding Holds Promises for Thin-Film Solar Apps
02 March 2012POSTED IN Research
Researchers at Stanford University have discovered a new technique for welding together meshes of silver nanowires. Harnessing plasmonics, they fuse the wires with a simple blast of light. The research breakthrough could open the possibility of mesh electrodes bound to flexible or transparent plastics and polymers.
Konarka Power Plastic Solar Cell Certified at 9% Efficiency
28 February 2012POSTED IN Applications News
Konarka Technologies, Inc., developer and manufacturer of Konarka Power Plastic, a lightweight, flexible organic solar film that converts light to electricity, today announced that Newport Corporation has certified Konarka's next generation organic solar cells as demonstrating 9% single-junction efficiency.
Cylindrical Luminescent Concentrators Show Lower Self-Absorption Rate
27 January 2012POSTED IN Research
Experimenting with cylindrical luminescent concentrators, researchers at the University of California, Merced not only developed new LSC models that absorb more sunlight and demonstrate lower self-absorption rates, they were also able to incorporate energy-converting nono particles into inexpensive plastics.
Particle-free Silver Ink Prints Transparent Conductive Microgrids
24 January 2012POSTED IN Research
Materials scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) developed a reactive silver ink for printing small, high-performance electronics that readily allow light to pass through the patterned surfaces, making the breakthrough product attractive for solar applications.
Nanoantennas Could Lead to Less Expensive and More Efficient Solar Cells
17 November 2011POSTED IN Research
Researchers from Tel Aviv University are developing a solar panel composed of nanoantennas. By adapting classic metallic antennas to absorb light waves at optical frequencies, a much higher conversion rate from light into useable energy could be achieved.
Solar Energy Harvesting of Waste Heat from Displays
10 October 2011POSTED IN Research
Researchers at the University of Michigan and the Chinese Academy of Science have developed a new kind of screen pixel that doubles as a solar cell and could boost the energy efficiency of cell phones and e-readers.
Empa's CIGS Solar Cells on Polymer Films Reach Higher Efficiency
22 September 2011POSTED IN Research
A research team at the Swiss Federal Labortories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) has used low-temperature deposition technology to reach an efficiency of 18.7% for high-efficiency copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) solar cells grown on flexible polymer films substrates.
Organic Photovoltaics: Nanotubes Improve Charge Transfer
12 September 2011POSTED IN Research
Researchers at the University of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) have used functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes to increase the efficiency of organic solar cells.
Gold Nanoparticles Increase Polymer Tandem Solar Cell Efficiency
17 August 2011POSTED IN Research
Researchers from the University of California – Los Angeles, Beijing's Chinese Academy of Science and Japan's Yamagata University have shown that incorporating gold nanoparticles into organic photovoltaics can significantly improve the cells' power conversion via plasmonic effects.
