Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have created new concentrator solar cells that have a solar conversion efficiency of more than 40% and intensities of 10,000 suns. This is almost as much as the most ultra-efficient photovoltaics available on the market today.
Prof. Jeffrey Gordon, a member of the Department of Solar Energy and Environmental Physics at BGU’s Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research is proud of their latest design, stating that these new cells do not have most of the limitations of typical solar cells. This is because the semiconductor materials that comprise the cells are independent.
Furthermore, the design allows the implementation and use of materials such as silicon that have previously been considered unsuitable under highly concentrated solar radiation, because of the side illumination. This increases the cell efficiency more than 10,000 times.
The research published in the Journal Energy & Environmental Science received acknowledgement from Doron Krakow, executive vice president of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU). He is certain that the initiative of the team can contribute towards changing the world for the better.
Via: Clean Technica
