Black silicon solar cells with record 18.7% efficiency

Scientists at Aalto University, Finland and Fraunhofer ISE, Germany report an efficiency of 18.7% for black silicon solar cells, the highest efficiency reported so far for a black silicon solar cell.

New research may revolutionize ceramics manufacturing

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new way to shape ceramics using a modest electric field, making the process significantly more energy efficient. The process should result in significant cost ...

Engineering thin-film oxide interfaces

(Phys.org)—Research at the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science's Advanced Photon Source (APS) provides new insights about a material that might form the basis for an alternative to conventional silicon-based semiconductor ...

Group uses controlled cracking for nanofabrication

(Phys.org) -- When creating nanomaterials, cracking is generally considered a problem; it usually means something has gone wrong and the result, as with other material making processes such as glass or ceramics, almost always ...

Nanotubes that Heal: Engineering Better Orthopedic Implants

(PhysOrg.com) -- Titanium and its alloys have a leg up on all other materials used to make the orthopedic implants used by surgeons to repair damaged bones and joints. They are light, super-strong, and virtually inert inside ...

Where were Herod the Great's royal alabaster bathtubs quarried?

From the Middle Bronze Age, Egypt played a crucial role in the appearance of calcite-alabaster artifacts in Israel, and the development of the local gypsum-alabaster industry. The absence of ancient calcite-alabaster quarries ...

Magnetism in thin insulating films at room temperature

(Phys.org)—Researchers at the University of Twente's MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology have succeeded in producing ultrathin films with an unusual combination of properties. At room temperature they do not conduct electricity, ...

Nature of bonding determines thermal conductivity

Optical data carriers such as DVDs, Blu-rays and CD-RWs store data in layers of so-called "phase change materials". In the future, these materials will enable the development of fast, non-volatile and energy-saving main memories. ...

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