News tagged with solar photon

Study raises questions on what causes silicon solar cell degradation

(PhysOrg.com) -- After several hours of exposure to sunlight, silicon solar cells experience light-induced degradation, which can decrease their efficiency by up to 10%. In a new study, scientists have attempted ...

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Jun 03, 2011 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast feature

Folding light: Wrinkles and twists boost power from solar panels

Taking their cue from the humble leaf, researchers have used microscopic folds on the surface of photovoltaic material to significantly increase the power output of flexible, low-cost solar cells.

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Apr 27, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (15) | comments 8 | with audio podcast

Tandem polymer solar cells that set record for energy-conversion

(PhysOrg.com) -- In the effort to convert sunlight into electricity, photovoltaic solar cells that use conductive organic polymers for light absorption and conversion have shown great potential. Organic polymers ...

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Feb 13, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (12) | comments 7 | with audio podcast

Scientists report first solar cell producing more electrons in photocurrent than solar photons entering cell

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have reported the first solar cell that produces a photocurrent that has an external quantum efficiency greater than 100 percent when photoexcited ...

Physics / General Physics

created Dec 15, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (42) | comments 47 | with audio podcast

Researchers unravel the mystery of quantum dot blinking

(PhysOrg.com) -- Research by Los Alamos scientists published today in the journal Nature documents significant progress in understanding the phenomenon of quantum-dot blinking. Their findings should enhanc ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Nov 09, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (12) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

New 3-D photonic crystal has both electronic, optical properties

In an advance that could open new avenues for solar cells, lasers, metamaterials and more, researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstrated the first optoelectronically active 3-D photonic crystal.

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Jul 24, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (15) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Researchers crack full-spectrum solar challenge

In a paper published in Nature Photonics, U of T Engineering researchers report a new solar cell that may pave the way to inexpensive coatings that efficiently convert the sun's rays to electricity.

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Jun 26, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (24) | comments 9 | with audio podcast

3-D nanocone solar cell technology cranks up efficiency

(PhysOrg.com) -- With the creation of a 3-D nanocone-based solar cell platform, a team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Jun Xu has boosted the light-to-power conversion efficiency of photovoltaics by ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Apr 29, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (13) | comments 7 | with audio podcast

New solar cell self-repairs like natural plant systems

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers are creating a new type of solar cell designed to self-repair like natural photosynthetic systems in plants by using carbon nanotubes and DNA, an approach aimed at increasing service ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Jan 04, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (11) | comments 10 | with audio podcast

Scientists generate two energetic electronic states from one photon

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the University of Colorado, Boulder (UCB), have reported the first designed molecular system ...

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Dec 03, 2010 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (14) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

New solar energy conversion process could revamp solar power production

Stanford engineers have figured out how to simultaneously use the light and heat of the sun to generate electricity in a way that could make solar power production more than twice as efficient as existing ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Aug 02, 2010 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (64) | comments 38 | with audio podcast

A Puzzling Collapse of Earth's Upper Atmosphere

NASA-funded researchers are monitoring a big event in our planet's atmosphere. High above Earth's surface where the atmosphere meets space, a rarefied layer of gas called "the thermosphere" recently collapsed ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Jul 15, 2010 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (47) | comments 45 | with audio podcast

IKAROS unfurls first ever solar sail in space

(PhysOrg.com) -- Japan's IKAROS has rolled out its solar sail, the first ever deployed in space. JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, achieved the feat by rotating the craft rapidly and spinning the ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jun 11, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (39) | comments 18 | with audio podcast report

Closing in on a carbon-based solar cell

To make large sheets of carbon available for light collection, Indiana University Bloomington chemists have devised an unusual solution -- attach what amounts to a 3-D bramble patch to each side of the carbon ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Apr 09, 2010 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (16) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Argonne 'homegrown' hybrid solar cell aims for low-cost power

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have refined a technique to manufacture solar cells by creating tubes of semiconducting material and then "growing" ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Nov 10, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (12) | comments 3