New Path To Solar Energy Via Solid-State Photovoltaics Date: Wednesday, March 31, 2010 @ 21:10:15 GMT Topic: Science
A newly discovered path for the conversion of sunlight to electricity
could brighten the future for photovoltaic technology. Researchers with
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have found a new
mechanism by which the photovoltaic effect can take place in
semiconductor thin-films. This new route to energy production overcomes
the bandgap voltage limitation that continues to plague conventional
solid-state solar cells.
Working with bismuth ferrite, a ceramic made from bismuth, iron and
oxygen that is multiferroic – meaning it simultaneously displays both
ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties – the researchers discovered
that the photovoltaic effect can spontaneously arise at the nanoscale
as a result of the ceramic’s rhombohedrally distorted crystal structure.
Furthermore, they demonstrated that the application of an electric
field makes it possible to manipulate this crystal structure and thereby
control photovoltaic properties...
A newly discovered path for the conversion of sunlight to electricity
could brighten the future for photovoltaic technology. Researchers with
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have found a new
mechanism by which the photovoltaic effect can take place in
semiconductor thin-films. This new route to energy production overcomes
the bandgap voltage limitation that continues to plague conventional
solid-state solar cells.