German scientists use nanoparticles to make solar cells more efficient
EcoFriend
Apartfrom the high costs of solar cells, their low efficiency is alsohampering their attractiveness. Research on ways to improve theefficiency have been going on for a long time, but not many havepromised a dramatic increase in performance, which might herald a solarrevolution. Scientists at the Institute of Condensed Matter and SolidState Optics at Friedrich-Schiller-Universität in Jena, Germany, havedeveloped a technology that can improve the efficiency by up to 50%.
Thesescientists have tried to integrate metallic nanoparticles that could bedistributed over the surface of a thin film solar cell. These particlesincrease the absorption of solar energy, thereby making the cells moreefficient. Instead of distributing these nanoparticles randomly, thisnew research allows the scientists to use specifically shapednanoparticles at precise locations, which they believe can enhance theabsorption the most. The researchers opine that their findings canserve as a blueprint for a new generation of highly efficient thin filmsolar cells, which can readily be used globally.
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