In a record reminiscent of a 100-meter dash, scientists at the University of South Wales in Sydney, Australia, have created the world's most efficient solar power cell ever...by a hair.
Professor Martin Green and his colleague Anita Ho-Baillie led a team of U.S. researchers to victory with a multi-cell combination that is able to convert 43 percent of sunlight into electricity. The previous record was 42.7 percent.
To capture light at the red and infrared end of the spectrum, the researchers threw everything into the cells--gallium, phosphorous, indium, and arsenic, plus silicon. While a bunch of the semiconductors used are expensive, the scientists did raise the efficiency bar.
Ho-Baillie and Green broke a different solar record with a silicon solar cell last October. If they continue to combine their efficient cells with technology from the folks at the National Renewable Energy Lab and Emcore, maybe they'll make ones that can convert 50 percent. I can't wait for the sunny day when that happens.
Photo: The fast ones: Ho-Baillie and Green with last year's (different) record-breaking solar cells. Credit: University of New South Wales.
Tags: Alternative Power Sources, Energy, Fuel Cells, Green Electronics, Green Tech,
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