Stanford Report, November 20, 2013

Stanford study could lead to paradigm shift in organic solar cell research

A new study by Stanford scientists overturns a widely held explanation for how organic photovoltaics turn sunlight into electricity.

By Mark Shwartz

Koen Vandewal/Stanford University Stanford scientists may have resolved a debate over how organic solar cells turn sunlight into electricity. The question: What causes electron-hole pairs (excitons) to split apart? The likely answer: A gradient at the solar cell interface between disordered polymers and ordered buckyballs splits the exciton, allowing the electron (purple) to escape and produce an electric current.

Organic solar cells have long been touted as lightweight, low-cost alternatives to rigid solar panels made of silicon. Dramatic improvements in the efficiency of organic photovoltaics have been made in recent years, yet the fundamental question of how these devices convert sunlight into electricity is still hotly debated.
Now a Stanford University research team is weighing in on the controversy. Their findings, published in the Nov. 17 issue of the journal Nature Materials, indicate that the predominant working theory is incorrect, and could steer future efforts to design materials that boost the performance of organic cells.
"We know that organic photovoltaics are very good," said study coauthor Michael McGehee, a professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford. "The question is, why are they so good? The answer is controversial."
A typical organic solar cell consists of two semiconducting layers made of plastic polymers and other flexible materials. The cell generates electricity by absorbing particles of light, or photons.
When the cell absorbs light, a photon knocks out an electron in a polymer atom, leaving behind an empty space, which scientists refer to as a hole. The electron and the hole immediately form a bonded pair called an exciton. The exciton splits, allowing the electron to move independently to a hole created by another absorbed photon. This continuous movement of electrons from hole to hole produces an electric current.
In the study, the Stanford team addressed a long-standing debate over what causes the exciton to split.
"To generate a current, you have to separate the electron and the hole," said senior author Alberto Salleo, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford. "That requires two different semiconducting materials. If the electron is attracted to material B more than material A, it drops into material B. In theory, the electron should remain bound to the hole even after it drops.
"The fundamental question that's been around a long time is, how does this bound state split?"

Some like it hot

One explanation widely accepted by scientists is known as the "hot exciton effect." The idea is that the electron carries extra energy when it drops from material A to material B. That added energy gives the excited ("hot") electron enough velocity to escape from the hole.
But that hypothesis did not stand up to experimental tests, according to the Stanford team.
"In our study, we found that the hot exciton effect does not exist," Salleo said. "We measured optical emissions from the semiconducting materials and found that extra energy is not required to split an exciton."
So what actually causes electron-hole pairs to separate?
"We haven't really answered that question yet," Salleo said. "We have a few hints. We think that the disordered arrangement of the plastic polymers in the semiconductor might help the electron get away."
In a recent study, Salleo discovered that disorder at the molecular level actually improves the performance of semiconducting polymers in solar cells. By focusing on the inherent disorder of plastic polymers, researchers could design new materials that draw electrons away from the solar cell interface where the two semiconducting layers meet, he said.
"In organic solar cells, the interface is always more disordered than the area further away," Salleo explained. "That creates a natural gradient that sucks the electron from the disordered regions into the ordered regions. "

Improving energy efficiency

The solar cells used in the experiment have an energy-conversion efficiency of about 9 percent. The Stanford team hopes to improve that performance by designing semiconductors that take advantage of the interplay between order and disorder.
"To make a better organic solar cell, people have been looking for materials that would give you a stronger hot exciton effect," Salleo said. "They should instead try to figure out how the electron gets away without it being hot. This idea is pretty controversial. It's a fundamental shift in the way people think about photocurrent generation."
Other authors of the paper are Koen Vandewal (lead author), Erik Hoke, William Mateker, Jason Bloking and George Burkhard of Stanford; Steve Albrecht, Marcel Schubert and Dieter Neher of the University of Potsdam; Johannes Widmer and Moritz Riede of the Institute for Applied Photophysics (IAPP); Jessica Douglas and Jean Frechet of the University of California-Berkeley; Aram Amassian of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST); and Alan Sellinger of the Colorado School of Mines and the University of Oxford. Author Kenneth Graham has a joint postdoctoral fellowship with Stanford and KAUST.
Support for the study was provided by the Stanford Center for Advanced Molecular Photovoltaics and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Mark Shwartz writes about energy technology for the Precourt Institute for Energy at Stanford University.

Media Contact

Alberto Salleo, Department of Materials Science and Engineering: (650) 725-1025, asalleo@stanford.edu
Michael McGehee, Department of Materials Science and Engineering: (650) 736-0307, mmcgehee@stanford.edu
Mark Shwartz, Precourt Institute for Energy: (650) 723-9296, mshwartz@stanford.edu
Dan Stober, Stanford News Service: (650) 721-6965, dstober@stanford.ed

Abengoa’s Gigantic “Salt Battery” Stores Utility-Scale Solar Energy

It is also the first solar plant in the U.S. with thermal energy storage, in the form of a molten salt system. The storage capacity is about six hours. That enables the plant to keep generating electricity from solar energy well into the early evening hours, when demand in the region typically peaks out.

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Plasmonic nanostructures could prove a boon to solar cell technology

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have found a way to harvest energy from sunlight more efficiently, with the help of so-called plasmonic nanostructures. The new findings suggest that plasmonic components can enhance and direct optical scattering, creating a mechanism that is more efficient than the photoexcitation that drives solar cells. The development could therefore provide a real boost to solar cell efficiency and lead to faster optical communication.

http://www.gizmag.com/plasmonic-nanostructures-solar/29067/

Solar Cell Advance...perovskite cells

The Oxford team has demonstrated that perovskite cells are just as efficient if they are constructed in the same flat design, and using the same method—known as vapor deposition—as cheap thin-film silicon cells. “Having started with a complicated nanostructure, we’ve reduced it to a thin film,” Snaith says. “It’s amusing, I agree!”

http://news.sciencemag.org/physics/2013/09/flat-out-major-advance-emerging-solar-cell-technology

Rooftop Solar Panels Become Growing Threat to Firefighters

Thursday, 05 Sep 2013 02:31 PM

 http://www.newsmax.com/US/solar-panels-firefighters-danger/2013/09/05/id/524042#ixzz2e3Z47Stq 

Spray-On Solar Cells — New, Inexpensive Nanoparticles Lower Solar Cell Manufacturing Costs

Relatively inexpensive, easy-to-manufacture, nanoparticle-based solar cells can be created with materials that are abundantly common throughout the Earth’s crust, according to new work from researchers at the University of Alberta. The new nanoparticle-based solar cells — which could be mass-manufactured using simple methods, such as roll-to-roll printing or spray-coating — are possible thanks to a new type of nanoparticle designed by the researchers.

The researchers think that the new design/discovery — which according to them has been several years in the making — “is an important step forward in making solar power more accessible to parts of the world that are off the traditional electricity grid or face high power costs, such as the Canadian North.”

Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2013/09/01/spray-on-solar-cells-new-inexpensive-nanoparticles-lower-solar-cell-manufacturing-costs/#ct5yMRvLSHdcUY7g.99

A Material Could Make Solar Panels "Dirt Cheap"

A new type of solar cell, made from a material that is dramatically cheaper to obtain and use than silicon, could generate as much power as today’s commodity solar cells.

Researchers developing the technology say that it could lead to solar panels that cost just 10 to 20 cents per watt. Solar panels now typically cost about 75 cents a watt, and the U.S. Department of Energy says 50 cents per watt will allow solar power to compete with fossil fuel.

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50% Solar Cell Efficiency?

Is the 50% efficient solar cell on the horizon?

by Amanda Alvarez

 

9 HOURS AGO

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SUMMARY:

Is there a solar panel coming that can convert an unheard-of 50 percent of the suns light into electricity. Some early research indicates that yes, it’s possible, though it might take many more years to commercialize.

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The summer sunshine is upon us, at least here on the East Coast, which means it’s the perfect time to think about how best to harness those golden rays for clean energy. The solar industry’s power players put their newest tech on display at last week’s Intersolar North America conference in San Francisco, despite the industry’s slightly depressed showing this year (see Ucilia Wang’s report from the trade show floor).

Nonetheless, despite these recent business shadows, there have been glimmers of research progress. At the conference Alta Devices, for example, presented technology that can boost solar cell efficiency to between 30 percent and an unprecedented 50 percent or more, using both materials and optical advances.

Best research photovoltaic cell efficiencies Rev. 06-2013

Besides the solar market slump, constraints imposed purely by physics have also been the bane of solar cell manufacturers. Many modern commercial cells hover around the 10-20 percent efficiency mark, and boosting efficiency is a major R&D focus for many companies. There are lots of reasons why solar cells can’t reach 100 percent efficiency: blackbody radiation (think of it as ambient energy evaporation), the PV materials used, and their capacity to accommodate electrons. Oddly, photons themselves can also be a roadblock to optimal efficiency.

Traditional solar cells can only collect one wavelength of light and are constrained by the Shockley-Queisser limit, which dictates that the maximum efficiency of an ideal solar cell can never exceed 33.7 percent. That’s because in traditional single-junction solar cells, the bandgap between two semiconductor materials defines how well the photons are converted into electrons within the cell. In this scenario, capturing photons whose energy is well-matched to the materials’ specific bandgapis crucial.

Fortunately, silicon and other semiconducting materials are pretty well-matched in their bandgaps to harness the sun’s natural spectral distribution. But spreading your photonic net across wavelengths could yield more energy-producing photons. That’s what multi-junction or tandem cells, like those from Alta Devices, aim to do.

In March, Alta Devices announced their solar cells had exceeded 30 percent efficiency, and at Intersolar last week founder and Caltech professor Harry Atwater outlined how the company plans to break the 50 percent efficiency barrier. Photon recycling and epitaxial lift-off (check out this earlier story for an explainer) are the two main factors distinguishing Alta’s cells, whose super thin gallium arsenide films are currently more efficient than traditional PV materials like silicon. They are, however, also more expensive, and may thus best serve niche markets where performance requirements trump cost. Alta is focusing on mobile deployments of its tech, from unmanned aerial vehicles to transportable solar arrays.

According to Atwater, simulations indicate that efficiencies in multi-junction cells can continue to increase, provided the structure of the cells is appropriately tweaked. The stacking of thin film layers and using tuned materials to cover the entire wavelength spectrum are some of the main considerations. By iterating and improving the PV design over these parameters, efficiencies of 50 percent or greater should be achievable.

Spectrum splitting – using optical methods to reflect and redirect incident light to appropriate layers – and using lenses or mirrors as concentrators are two accessory ways to further improve solar efficiency that Alta and others are pursuing. With light concentrators, the argument is that fewer solar cells are then needed, leading to potential cost and area savings. The snag is that you need a device, like the QBotix robot, to track the sun, and you need to funnel the energy of hundreds of suns into the system. Companies that use solar concentrators, like Solar Junction, have achieved over 40 percent efficiency with their cells in this way.

The future for solar efficiency is thus bright, in theory, but materials costs and technical hurdles related to manufacturing intricate multi-junction cells may keep these advances from being fully realized for the time being.

http://gigaom.com/2013/07/18/is-the-50-efficient-solar-cell-on-the-horizon/

Innovative solar cell structure stores, supplies energy simultaneously

In a quest for a smaller, more self-sustaining solar power source, a Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) electrical engineer has proposed a design for solar panels that can simultaneously generate power from sunlight and store power reserves for later, all within a single device.

The final design allows for a standard-size solar cell that can simultaneously power a device and store energy for later use, creating a closed-loop system for small-scale applications of solar energy. "We can have some energy set aside locally, right in the panel, so that when you need it, you can get it," says Jiang.


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Patent filing claims solar energy ‘breakthrough’

BY GREG GORDON

MCCLATCHY WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- In a U.S. patent application, a little-known Maryland inventor claims a stunning solar energy breakthrough that promises to end the planet’s reliance on fossil fuels at a fraction of the current cost – a transformation that also could blunt global warming.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/08/v-fullstory/3387126/patent-filing-claims-solar-energy.html#storylink=cpy

Inventor Ronald Ace said that his flat-panel “Solar Traps,” which can be mounted on rooftops or used in electric power plants, will shatter decades-old scientific and technological barriers that have stymied efforts to make solar energy a cheap, clean and reliable alternative.

“This is a fundamental scientific and environmental discovery,” Ace said. “This invention can meet about 92 percent of the world’s energy needs.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/08/v-fullstory/3387126/patent-filing-claims-solar-energy.html#storylink=cpy

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Solar Photovoltaic Module Revenues to Rebound to $32 Billion by 2017, According to NPD Solarbuzz

Santa Clara, Calif., April 22, 2013—Solar photovoltaic (PV) industry module revenues are forecast to decline 20% in 2013 to $20.5 billion from $25.5 billion in 2012. While revenues will remain below 2012 levels during 2013 and 2014, they are set to increase from 2015 onward. According to the NPD Solarbuzz 2013 Marketbuzz report, PV module revenue is expected to reach $32 billion by 2017. 

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Solar Cell Could Dramatically Improve Energy Harvest

A special coating could dramatically improve the percentage of energy that can be harvested fromsolar cells by splitting photons in two, new research suggests.

For every photon (or particle of light) that hits a solar cell, the coating — called pentacene — doubles the number of electrons, and energy, that can be harvested, at least with high-energy blue or green wavelengths of light.

The findings were reported today (April 18) in the journal Science.

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A cheap nanowire ink that can boost existing solar cell efficiency by 25%

A cheap nanowire ink that can boost existing solar cell efficiency by 25%

• By Sebastian Anthony on April 10, 2013 at 6:41 am
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Sol Voltaics, a Swedish startup founded by nanotech master Lars Samuelson, has announced its first product: Solink — an ink made from nanowires that, when slathered onto existing solar panels, can boost efficiency by 25%. Not only could this give solar power the efficiency boost needed to compete with other energy sources, such as fossil fuels, but the method in which the ink is created is also very exciting.

Solink, which is added to conventional solar cells towards the end of the production process, is an additive that contains galium arsenide (GaAs) nanowires. As we’ve covered in the past, galium arsenide is one of most efficient photovoltaic materials out there — but it’s much more expensive than silicon. In essence, Sol Voltaics, building on advances made by Lars Samuelson’s research group at Lund University in Sweden, has found a way of cheaply producing large quantities of galium arsenide nanowires, and then producing an ink that is easy to apply to existing solar cells.

Lund University nanowires produced using aerotaxy

We have known for some time that nanowires, due to their long length, can bemuch more efficient than normal, flat semiconductors (light bounces back and forth along their length, increasing absorption). The problem, though, is that producing nanowires is generally a slow, expensive, substrate-based epitaxial process that’s similar to the production of conventional silicon chips. Late last year, however, Lund University announced that it had succeeded in creating self-assembling nanowires — galium arsenide nanowires that can be produced in the gas phase without a substrate, accelerating the production of nanowires by 1,000 times.

To do this, nanoparticles of gold are pumped through a tube-shaped furnace. By adding the gases TMGA (trimethylgallium) and AsH3 (arsine) to the furnace, gallium and arsenide are deposited onto the crystal, creating a nanowire (pictured below). For more details on this process, see our story detailing Lund University’s breakthrough. This process, called aerotaxy, is exciting because it’s incredibly fast, efficient, is a continuous process, and might eventually be applicable to the production of computer chips.

All told, Sol Voltaics says that it needs just one gram of nanowires to increase the efficiency of a one-square-meter crystalline silicon solar panel by 25%. Speaking to Technology Review, Sol Voltaics’ CEO says that Solink should increase production costs by one or two cents per watt — and the current cost of producing solar cells is now below 75 cents per watt. In short, we’re talking about a huge efficiency boost for just a tiny increase in cost.

Sol Voltaics has secured $11 million in funding so far, and expects to need $50 million to begin commercial production of Solink in 2015.

Now read: MIT creates solar cell from grass clippings

Research paper: doi:10.1038/nature11652 – “Continuous gas-phase synthesis of nanowires with tunable properties”

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/153037-a-cheap-nanowire-ink-that-can-boost-existing-solar-cell-efficiency-by-25

Theoretical Limit Of Solar Cell Efficiency Probably Broken

A simple, single nanowire crystal is capable of super-concentrating the intensity of the sunlight that it is exposed to up to a factor of 15, researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute have discovered. The surprising discovery means that the assumed limit to solar cell efficiency, the “Shockley-Queisser Limit,” can likely be increased. The discovery should lead to new types of high-efficiency solar cells, but also will have uses in potential quantum computers and other electronics, the researchers say.

Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2013/03/25/solar-cell-efficiency-theoretical-limit-broken-single-nanowire-super-concentrate-sunlight/#3eXxM2HQTvZRp8TH.99

Evolution Algorithm Inspires Organic Solar Cell Design

Organic solar cells may be a better solution. These  polymer solar cells use organic materials to absorb light and convert it into electricity but current designs have poor electrical properties. Instead of attempting to increase efficiency by altering the thickness of the solar cell's polymer layer, a tactic that has preciously garnered mixed results,  researchers at Northwestern University sought to design the geometric pattern of the scattering layer to maximize the amount of time light remained trapped within the cell - all by using a mathematical search algorithm based on evolution.

 The algorithm pinpointed a specific geometrical pattern that is optimal for capturing and holding light in thin-cell organic solar cells, resulting design exhibited a three-fold increase over the Yablonovitch Limit, a thermodynamic limit developed in the 1980s that statistically describes how long a photon can be trapped in a semiconductor.
The resulting pattern will be fabricated with partners at Argonne National Laboratory.
 
In their newly organic solar cell, light enters a 100-nanometer-thick scattering layer, a geometrically-patterned dielectric layer designed to maximize the amount of light transmitted into the cell. The light is then transmitted to the active layer, where it is converted into electricity.
"We wanted to determine the geometry for the scattering layer that would give us optimal performance," said Cheng Sun, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Northwestern and co-author of the paper. "But with so many possibilities, it's difficult to know where to start, so we looked to laws of natural selection to guide us."

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Evolution Inspires More Efficient Solar Cell Design: Geometric Pattern Maximizes Time Light Is Trapped in Solar Cell

The sun's energy is virtually limitless, but harnessing its electricity with today's single-crystal silicon

solar cells is extremely expensive -- 10 times pricier than coal, according to some estimates. Organic solar cells -- polymer solar cells that use organic materials to absorb light and convert it into electricity -- could be a solution, but current designs suffer because polymers have less-than-optimal electrical properties.

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V3Solar Spin Cell = 8 Cents/kWh? (CleanTechnica Exclusive)

Quite frankly, if the company’s numbers are correct, this could be the biggest solar news of the decade, or even a greater timespan
Clean Technica (http://s.tt/1yUBC)

Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2013/01/24/v3solar-spin-cell-cones-cheap-solar/#d0Z0AtSEmhgfhwre.99

Solar Cell Research Receives Nanowire Breakthrough

New research has shown that nanowires have the potential to drastically improve solar cell efficiency and cost, which leaves us with just one question: what is a nanowire?

Clean Technica (http://s.tt/1yJvS)

Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2013/01/21/solar-cell-research-receives-nanowire-breakthrough/#WEjSOFzrcHtF27t9.99

How Light-Trapping Surfaces Will Boost Solar Cell Efficiency

Trapping light on the surface of solar cells can significantly boost their efficiency, say physicists

 This prevents both reflection and transmission and so has the potential to significantly increase the efficiency of thin film solar cells.

Today, Constantin Simovski at Aalto University in Finland and a few pals reveal their design for a new light-trapping structure. Their idea is to cover a cell with a regular array of silver nanoantennas that convert ordinary incoming waves into more exotic ones that propagate through the photovoltaic slab itself.

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NRL Designs Multi-Junction Solar Cell to Break Efficiency Barrier

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory scientists in the Electronics Technology and Science Division, in collaboration with the Imperial College London and MicroLink Devices, Inc., Niles, Ill., have proposed a novel triple-junction solar cell with the potential to break the 50 percent conversion efficiency barrier, which is the current goal in multi-junction photovoltaic development.

"This research has produced a novel, realistically achievable, lattice-matched, multi-junction solar cell design with the potential to break the 50 percent power conversion efficiency mark under concentrated illumination," said Robert Walters, Ph.D., NRL research physicist. "At present, the world record triple-junction solar cell efficiency is 44 percent under concentration and it is generally accepted that a major technology breakthrough will be required for the efficiency of these cells to increase much further."

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Fraunhofer Institute confirms: Panasonic HIT PV modules are PID resistant

The overall power output of Panasonic’s HIT photovoltaic power generating system does not degrade even when the system is operated with high system voltages.

Panasonic is very pleased to announce that their HIT photovoltaic modules have received acclaim with yet another seal of approval. The Fraunhofer Center for Silicon-Photovoltaics (CSP) has confirmed the modules’ resistance to potential induced degradation (PID).

Read more: http://www.pv-magazine.com/services/press-releases/details/beitrag/fraunhofer-institute-confirms--panasonic-hit-pv-modules-are-pid-resistant_100009837/#ixzz2HyGprlfj

Clear: the new transparent PV module from Eurener

The photovoltaic module manufacturer opens the year with a new product. The module transparency is excellent for architectural integration and its high performance ensures high profitability.

Read more: http://www.pv-magazine.com/services/press-releases/details/beitrag/clear--the-new-transparent-pv-module-from-eurener_100009737/#ixzz2HJJ9dOvU

Unlocking nature's quantum engineering for efficient solar energy

(Phys.org)—Quantum scale photosynthesis in biological systems which inhabit extreme environments could hold key to new designs for solar energy and nanoscale devices. Certain biological systems living in low light environments have unique protein ...

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structures for photosynthesis that use quantum dynamics to convert 100% of absorbed light into electrical charge, displaying astonishing efficiency that could lead to new understanding of renewable solar energy, suggests research published today in the journal Nature Physics.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-01-nature-quantum-efficient-solar-energy.html#jCp

Quantum scale photosynthesis in biological systems which inhabit extreme environments could hold key to new designs for solar energy and nanoscale devices. Certain biological systems living in low light environments have unique protein structures for photosynthesis that use quantum dynamics to convert 100% of absorbed light into electrical charge, displaying astonishing efficiency that could lead to new understanding of renewable solar energy, suggests research published today in the journal Nature Physics.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-01-nature-quantum-efficient-solar-energy.html#jCp

(Phys.org)—Quantum scale photosynthesis in biological systems which inhabit extreme environments could hold key to new designs for solar energy and nanoscale devices. Certain biological systems living in low light environments have unique protein structures for photosynthesis that use quantum dynamics to convert 100% of absorbed light into electrical charge, displaying astonishing efficiency that could lead to new understanding of renewable solar energy, suggests research published today in the journal Nature Physics.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-01-nature-quantum-efficient-solar-energy.html#jCp

(Phys.org)—Quantum scale photosynthesis in biological systems which inhabit extreme environments could hold key to new designs for solar energy and nanoscale devices. Certain biological systems living in low light environments have unique protein structures for photosynthesis that use quantum dynamics to convert 100% of absorbed light into electrical charge, displaying astonishing efficiency that could lead to new understanding of renewable solar energy, suggests research published today in the journal Nature Physics.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-01-nature-quantum-efficient-solar-energy.html#jCp

(Phys.org)—Quantum scale photosynthesis in biological systems which inhabit extreme environments could hold key to new designs for solar energy and nanoscale devices. Certain biological systems living in low light environments have unique protein structures for photosynthesis that use quantum dynamics to convert 100% of absorbed light into electrical charge, displaying astonishing efficiency that could lead to new understanding of renewable solar energy, suggests research published today in the journal Nature Physics.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-01-nature-quantum-efficient-solar-energy.html#jCp

(Phys.org)—Quantum scale photosynthesis in biological systems which inhabit extreme environments could hold key to new designs for solar energy and nanoscale devices. Certain biological systems living in low light environments have unique protein structures for photosynthesis that use quantum dynamics to convert 100% of absorbed light into electrical charge, displaying astonishing efficiency that could lead to new understanding of renewable solar energy, suggests research published today in the journal Nature Physics.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-01-nature-quantum-efficient-solar-energy.html#jCp

(Phys.org)—Quantum scale photosynthesis in biological systems which inhabit extreme environments could hold key to new designs for solar energy and nanoscale devices. Certain biological systems living in low light environments have unique protein structures for photosynthesis that use quantum dynamics to convert 100% of absorbed light into electrical charge, displaying astonishing efficiency that could lead to new understanding of renewable solar energy, suggests research published today in the journal Nature Physics.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-01-nature-quantum-efficient-solar-energy.html#jCp