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Black Silicon Solar Cell Hits 18.2% Efficiency, Should Help to Reduce Costs
October 13, 2012 By Nathan 1 Comment
Black Silicon Solar Cell Hits 18.2% Efficiency, Should Help to Reduce Costs - CleanTechnica
October 13, 2012 By Nathan 1 Comment
Black-silicon solar cells with 18.2% efficiency have been created by researchers from the U.S. Department of Energys National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). These dont need extra anti-reflection layers (like typical solar cells do), which should help to significantly lower the cost of solar energy.
The specially designed nanostructured surface ensures that the light-generated electricity is still collectable in an efficient way from the solar cell, while still conferring the inherent advantages of a black silicon material.
The researchers made nano-islands of silver on a silicon wafer and immersed it briefly in liquids to make billions of nano-sized holes in each square-inch of the silicon wafer surface,an NREL news release states. The holes and silicon walls are smaller than the light wavelengths hitting them, so the light doesnt recognize any sudden change in density at the surface and, thus, dont reflect back into the atmosphere as wasted energy. The researchers controlled the nanoshapes and the chemical composition of the surface to reach record solar cell efficiencies for this black silicon material.
Regularly, solar cell manufacturers need to add an additional anti-reflection layer, sometimes even more than one, to their cells; this raises the manufacturing costs considerably.
Black Silicon Solar Cell Hits 18.2% Efficiency, Should Help to Reduce Costs - CleanTechnica