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Efficient quantum dot solar panels

11.11.2012

Scientists from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL, USA) have demonstrated the high efficiency of quantum dot solar panels. Using a process called multiple exciton generation (MEG), the researchers created a solar panel in which each blue photon of absorbed light can generate 30% more electricity than conventional technology.

New solar cells will soon be able to surpass all existing commercial photovoltaic technologies. The new cell demonstrates a high external quantum efficiency (EQE) - more than 100% for photons in the solar spectrum. It should be noted that EQE is not efficiency, but the ratio of hole-electron pairs to the number of photons that hit the solar panel. In turn, the internal efficiency is the ratio of the number of absorbed photons and produced electrons.

So far, no photovoltaic cell has ever approached 100% EQE. Traditional semiconductors produce only one electron from each photon, the rest of the energy is dissipated as heat. At the same time, crystalline nanometer structures such as quantum dots circumvent this limitation, resulting in reduced energy loss and increased electricity output. Due to their microscopic size, quantum dots limit the movement of electrons and do not allow energy to dissipate, which makes it possible to maximize the utilization of photon energy.

The MEG technology uses most of the photon energy efficiently and achieves an EQE of 114%. This allows us to talk about the possibility of creating full-scale solar panels based on quantum dots, which will be significantly more powerful than similar panels based on traditional semiconductors. While the efficiency of the experimental cell is low - only 4,5%. However, this is just a lab sample meant to demonstrate the effect of MEG, not power generation. Scientists believe that in the future, quantum dot solar panels will significantly surpass traditional ones in terms of power and become an environmentally friendly source of new generation energy.

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A team of scientists using advanced methods from various fields of science created a transistor based on proteins present in the human body. According to the calculations of developers from Tel Aviv University, the new technology can become the basis for various flexible electronic nanodevices with the ability to biodegrade.

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Protein-based transistors could revolutionize electronics. They are ideal for small, flexible devices because, unlike silicon, they do not break. This will make it possible to launch a new generation of flexible screens, mobile phones, biosensors, microprocessors, and so on. At the same time, this electronics will be biodegradable and will not harm the environment.

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