silicon Archives - Page 3 of 4

Okayama Solar Absorbers Use “Green Ferrite” to Generate Super-Cheap Electricity from Heat

September 20, 201113 years ago charis 13 Comments

Okayama Graduate School of Science and Technology is one of many developing solar cells and batteries, but their research team, led by one Professor Naoshi Ikeda, has a unique approach. Instead of silicon, currently the standard component in solar cells, the Okayama team is using an iron oxide compound it calls “green ferrite,” or GF. Professor Ikeda has gone so far as to claim his product will produce 100x the amount of energy as a traditional silicon solar cell.

Solar Silicon Prices to Continue Falling as Asian Bigs Ramp Up Capacity in Bid to…

July 12, 201113 years ago proteus 1 Comment

Prices for polysilicon–the basic material used to make solar photovoltaic cells–have dropped precipitously in recent years and that trend looks set to continue as big Asian suppliers pursue a cutthroat, low cost-high volume strategy that Chinese solar panel manufacturers, and other export-driven Asian economies, have used successfully for decades.

Tiny Tunable Dots Play the Sweet Sound of Cheap Solar Power

February 22, 201113 years ago Tina Casey 2 Comments

Scientists at Stanford University have given the vision of cheap solar power another nudge along the path to reality. They are working with tiny particles called quantum dots, which can be adjusted or “tuned” to absorb different wavelengths of light. Quantum dots are relatively cheap because they can be churned … [continued]

Clean Tech News & Views Link Drop

January 8, 201113 years ago Zachary Shahan 1 Comment

Some clean tech news and views from around that we didn’t cover this week: Caltech Researchers Create Highly Absorbing, Flexible Solar Cells with Silicon Wire Arrays Using arrays of long, thin silicon wires embedded in a polymer substrate, a team of scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has … [continued]

"Dry Water" Could be the First Oxymoron to Help Fight Climate Change

August 29, 201014 years ago Tina Casey 0 Comments

Dry water might sound like an oxymoron but the concept is pretty straightforward: encapsulate microdrops of water in silica (otherwise known as common sand) to form a substance that looks like powdered sugar, then sit back and watch the fun. Though it was first discovered in 1968, the unique properties … [continued]

Solar PV Firm Bets on Bioplastic

January 7, 201014 years ago Derek Markham 3 Comments

Shrink Nanotechnologies is one of several companies that is using bioplastics to find a new way of making devices that will minimize the use of increasingly-scarce rare metals. The company’s OptiSol Solar Concentrator is billed as a nanotechnology-based plastic solar concentrator and solar film. Traditional silicon solar cells absorb only … [continued]

New Glitter-Sized Photovoltaic Cells Use Less Silicon, Generate More Electricity

December 28, 200914 years ago Tina Casey 2 Comments

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have come up with a new photovoltaic cell no bigger than a flake of glitter, but it packs a big punch. The new cell uses 100 times less silicon to generate the same amount of electricity as conventional solar cells. While still in the … [continued]

Solar Power Costs 50% Lower than Last Year

November 27, 200914 years ago Zachary Shahan 0 Comments

New research by leading alternative energy research firm New Energy Finance finds that solar power will cost less by about 50% at the end of 2009 compared to the end of 2008. The costs are pre-subsidy, so they could be much lower if you take better government subsidies into account. … [continued]

Sharp Nails a Record 35.8% Solar Conversion Efficiency

October 25, 200915 years ago Tina Casey 8 Comments

Sharp Corporation has just announced that it has achieved the world’s highest solar cell conversion efficiency using a compound layered design based on the technology used in the solar cells that power space satellites. Mindful of the link between sustainable energy and the future market for consumer electronics, Sharp has … [continued]

Graphene Emerging as the Miracle Material of the New Millenium

June 26, 200915 years ago Tina Casey 9 Comments

Move over, silicon: graphene is ready for its closeup. Discovered just a few years ago, graphene is a sheet of graphite the thickness of just one atom. It can be processed like silicon to make electronic devices, which makes it easier to manipulate than the current “it” material, carbon nanotubes. … [continued]