New ways of squeezing out greater efficiency from solar photovoltaic cells are emerging from computer simulations and lab tests conducted by a team of physicists and engineers.
Currently solar cells are difficult to handle, expensive to purchase and complicated to install. The hope is that consumers will one day be able to buy solar cells from their local hardware store and simply hang them like posters on a wall. A recent study has shown that the dream is one step closer to reality.
Researchers have shed light on a basic process that could improve future solar cells. They have now directly measured the rate of hole transfer between identical porphyrin compounds in their ground states. These results are key to understanding the fundamental processes underlying charge separation and have applications for improving the efficiency of solar cells.
Scientists have induced electrons in the nanocrystals of semiconductors to cool more slowly by forcing them into a smaller volume. This has the potential to improve satellite communications and the generation of solar power. Slowing down the cooling of these electrons — in this case, by more than 30 times — could lead to a better infrared laser source and increase the bandwidth of communication satellites. It also could lead to more efficient photovoltaic devices.