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