Record Efficiency for Ultra-Thin Solar Panels tagged posts

Scientists Achieve Record Efficiency for Ultra-Thin Solar Panels

Light scattering from a thin silicon membrane absorbing 65% of sunlight

A team co-led team by the University of Surrey has successfully increased the levels of energy absorbed by wafer-thin photovoltaic panels by 25%. Their solar panels, just one micrometre thick (1μm), convert light into electricity more efficiently than others as thin and pave the way to make it easier to general more clean, green energy.

In a paper published in the American Chemical Society’s Photonics journal, the team detail how they used characteristics of sunlight to design a disordered honeycomb layer which lies on top of a wafer of silicon. Their approach is echoed in nature in the design of butterfly wings and bird eyes...

Read More