Nanowire solar cells raise efficiency limit

Scientists from the Nano-Science Center at the Niels Bohr Institut, Denmark and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, have shown that a single nanowire can concentrate the sunlight up to 15 times of the normal sun light intensity. The results are surprising and the potential for developing a new type of highly efficient solar cells is great. Due to some unique physical light absorption properties of nanowires, the limit of how much energy we can utilize from the sun's rays is higher than previous believed.

The figure shows that the sun's rays are drawn into a nanowire, which stands on a substrate. At a given wavelength the sunlight is concentrated up to 15 times. Consequently, there is great potential in using nanowires in the development of future solar cells. Credit: Niels Bohr Institute

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-03-nanowire-solar-cells-efficiency-limit.html#jCp

The figure shows that the sun's rays are drawn into a nanowire, which stands on a substrate. At a given wavelength the sunlight is concentrated up to 15 times. Consequently, there is great potential in using nanowires in the development of future solar cells. Credit: Niels Bohr Institute

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-03-nanowire-solar-cells-efficiency-limit.html#jCp

The figure shows that the sun's rays are drawn into a nanowire, which stands on a substrate. At a given wavelength the sunlight is concentrated up to 15 times. Consequently, there is great potential in using nanowires in the development of future solar cells. Credit: Niels Bohr Institute

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-03-nanowire-solar-cells-efficiency-limit.html#jCp

The figure shows that the sun's rays are drawn into a nanowire, which stands on a substrate. At a given wavelength the sunlight is concentrated up to 15 times. Consequently, there is great potential in using nanowires in the development of future solar cells. Credit: Niels Bohr Institute

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-03-nanowire-solar-cells-efficiency-limit.html#jCp

These results demonstrate the great potential of development of nanowire-based solar cells, says PhD Peter Krogstrup on the surprising discovery that is described in the journal Nature Photonics. The research groups have during recent years studied how to develop and improve the quality of the nanowire crystals, which is a cylindrical structure with a diameter of about 10,000 part of a human hair. The nanowires are predicted to have great potential in the development not only of solar cells, but also of future quantum computers and other electronic products.
Read their Nature article here: http://www.nature.com/nphoton/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nphoton.2013.32.html
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-03-nanowire-solar-cells-efficiency-limit.html#jCp