Navigation Links
Solar nanowire array may increase percentage of sun's frequencies available for energy conversion
Date:6/20/2012

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Researchers creating electricity through photovoltaics want to convert as many of the sun's wavelengths as possible to achieve maximum efficiency. Otherwise, they're eating only a small part of a shot duck: wasting time and money by using only a tiny bit of the sun's incoming energies.

For this reason, they see indium gallium nitride as a valuable future material for photovoltaic systems. Changing the concentration of indium allows researchers to tune the material's response so it collects solar energy from a variety of wavelengths. The more variations designed into the system, the more of the solar spectrum can be absorbed, leading to increased solar cell efficiencies. Silicon, today's photovoltaic industry standard, is limited in the wavelength range it can 'see' and absorb.

But there is a problem: Indium gallium nitride, part of a family of materials called III-nitrides, is typically grown on thin films of gallium nitride. Because gallium nitride atomic layers have different crystal lattice spacings from indium gallium nitride atomic layers, the mismatch leads to structural strain that limits both the layer thickness and percentage of indium that can be added. Thus, increasing the percentage of indium added broadens the solar spectrum that can be collected, but reduces the material's ability to tolerate the strain.

Cross-sectional images of the indium gallium nitride nanowire solar cell. (Image courtesy of Sandia National Laboratories) Click on thumbnail for a high-resolution image.

Sandia National Laboratories scientists Jonathan Wierer Jr. and George Wang reported in the journal Nanotechnology that if the indium mixture is grown on a phalanx of nanowires rather than on a flat surface, the small surface areas of the nanowires allow the indium shell layer to partially "relax" along each wire, easing strain. This relaxation allowed the team to create a nanowire solar cell with indium percentages of roug
'/>"/>

Contact: Neal Singer
nsinger@sandia.gov
505-845-7078
DOE/Sandia National Laboratories
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2

Related biology technology :

1. University of Florida physicists set new record for graphene solar cell efficiency
2. Taking solar technology up a notch
3. Tiny fractal trees for solar power
4. In solar cells, tweaking the tiniest of parts yields big jump in efficiency
5. Notre Dame researchers develop paint-on solar cells
6. Discovery of a dark state could mean a brighter future for solar energy
7. A light wave of innovation to advance solar energy
8. Pitt researchers coax gold into nanowires
9. Stanford engineers weld nanowires with light
10. Voltage increases up to 25 percent observed in closely packed nanowires at Sandia Labs
11. RayBiotech, Inc. and the University of Oslo Enter into Antibody Array Services Collaboration
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/20/2013)... a leader in data visualization, today unveils a new ... hospital costs across the United States . The tool ... “Medicare Provider Charge Data,” a dataset of pricing information ... for Medicare & Medicaid Services. , The wide variation ... country has sparked considerable controversy; however, it is nearly ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... The World Molecular Imaging Society (WMIS) ... Baird as Executive Director. Baird will assume leadership ... The WMIS vision is to encompass and promote preclinical ... treat diseases in the developed and developing world. ... 2011 by integrating the Academy of Molecular Imaging and ...
(Date:5/19/2013)... The JM Internet Group (web: jm-seo.org), ... proudly announced that the company's YouTube channel on ... views on YouTube. The company uses YouTube as a ... and training for small businesses with much success. , ... tips helpful for their SEO strategies", explained Jason McDonald, ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... Dr. Sparano is Professor of Medicine ... the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Associate Chairman ... Center. He is also Associate Director for Clinical ... Einstein Breast Cancer Working Group, a multidisciplinary group of ... He also serves as Vice Chair of the National ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Kitware Enables Interactive Exploration of CMS Medicare Data 2WMIS Appoints Lisa Baird as Next Executive Director 2YouTube Channel on SEO Tips Surpasses 175,000 Views, Announces JM Internet Group 2Joseph A. Sparano, MD, Named Vice Chair of ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group 2Joseph A. Sparano, MD, Named Vice Chair of ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group 3
... - Global Advocacy Groups Launch Joint Effort to ... new international survey reveal that eye exams are being,ignored by ... visited an,eye specialist in the last year to have their ... compared to heart disease or early,death. The survey showed that ...
... the sabre-toothed cat Smilodon ranks alongside Tyrannosaurus rex as ... like knives, Smilodon was a fearsome predator of Ice-Age ... years, scientists have debated how this iconic predator used ... new Australian study, published today in the US Proceedings ...
... today that,the company,s Carlsbad, CA, CLIA laboratory operation ... The laboratory offers,two new molecular oncology tests to ... ID(TM) is a 92-gene expression assay capable of ... molecular classification of metastatic,cancer and guides the physician ...
Cached Biology Technology:International Survey Shows People Over Forty Ignore Risk of Blindness 2International Survey Shows People Over Forty Ignore Risk of Blindness 3International Survey Shows People Over Forty Ignore Risk of Blindness 4International Survey Shows People Over Forty Ignore Risk of Blindness 5Scientists say sabercat bit like a pussycat 2AviaraDx Announces CAP Accreditation of Its Laboratory Operations 2
(Date:5/20/2013)... colistin are also commonly resistant to antimicrobial substances ... study in mBio , the online open-access ... to colistin and host antimicrobials LL-37 and lysozyme, ... could mean that patients with life-threatening multi-drug resistant ... response. Colistin is a last-line drug for treating ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... - A National Science Foundation (NSF) planning grant will ... (CARD), a joint program of the University of Illinois ... Mass. , "CARD will be devoted to research in ... agricultural products; forestry and paper products; chemical products; textiles; ... professor of food science and human nutrition and the ...
(Date:5/19/2013)... that can grow using hydrogen gas as its sole ... of carbon. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts, ... of the American Society for Microbiology. , "This represents ... says Amit Kumar, a researcher on the study who, ... Lab Group at the university. , Under the leadership ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Resistance to last-line antibiotic makes bacteria resistant to immune system 2Resistance to last-line antibiotic makes bacteria resistant to immune system 3NSF approves planning grant for Center for Advanced Research in Drying 2
... Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that a deceptively simple ... natural life cycle. , The discovery reveals that, when ... diseases by failing to properly control the steps and ... are described in the Sept. 23 issue of the ...
... be an early step in the development of sporadic colorectal ... may ultimately be useful in risk assessment for colorectal cancer, ... of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. ... a "field defect", cells that appear normal but that have ...
... may be mass produced at a lower cost, ... compositions than ever before, for dramatic improvements in ... structures. These entirely new biologically-enabled approaches are detailed ... of Applied Ceramic Technology, published on behalf of ...
Cached Biology News:Sugar helps control cell division 2Sugar helps control cell division 3Change in gene may be underlying molecular defect in some colorectal cancers 2
For cleavage of 6xHis tags from proteins containing a Factor Xa Protease recognition site Efficient 6xHis tag cleavage (greater than 90%), ...
... PBL's bioassays for interferons are cytopathic effect inhibition ... Sample types include; tissue culture supernatents; serum ... these assays, one unit is defined as the ... the cytopathic effect of viral infection by 50%. ...
... effect inhibition assays, also known as CPE and ... supernatents; serum from PK studies and delivery formulations. ... as the quantity of interferon required per milliliter ... by 50%. All standards used in ...
... effect inhibition assays, also known as CPE and ... supernatents; serum from PK studies and delivery formulations. ... as the quantity of interferon required per milliliter ... by 50%. All standards used in ...
Biology Products: