News tagged with solar photon

Scientists report first solar cell producing more electrons in photocurrent than solar photons entering cell

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have reported the first solar cell that produces a photocurrent that has an external quantum efficiency greater than 100 percent when photoexcited ...

Physics / General Physics

created Dec 15, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (42) | comments 47 | with audio podcast

Researchers unravel the mystery of quantum dot blinking

(PhysOrg.com) -- Research by Los Alamos scientists published today in the journal Nature documents significant progress in understanding the phenomenon of quantum-dot blinking. Their findings should enhanc ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Nov 09, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (12) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Solar concentrator increases collection with less loss

(PhysOrg.com) -- Converting sunlight into electricity is not economically attractive because of the high cost of solar cells, but a recent, purely optical approach to improving luminescent solar concentrators ...

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Nov 02, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (9) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

NASA to test new solar sail technology

Solar sails, much like anti-matter and ion engines appear at first glance to only exist in science fiction. Many technologies from science fiction however, become science fact.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Oct 14, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (8) | comments 9

Small defects mean big problems for industrial solar cells

Nanoscale clustering of metal impurities at intragranular dislocations within industrial mc-Si solar cells have been observed by users from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology working with the Center ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Oct 13, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Researchers discover technique to improve solar cell technology

A multi-disciplinary team of scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory has discovered a way to tailor nanostructures that could result in low-cost, high efficiency solar cells. The research appears in the ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Oct 12, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Optofluidics could improve energy applications

(PhysOrg.com) -- The ability to manipulate light and fluids on a single chip, broadly called "optofluidics," has led to such technologies as liquid-crystal displays and liquid-filled optical fibers for fast ...

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Sep 13, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

New 3-D photonic crystal has both electronic, optical properties

In an advance that could open new avenues for solar cells, lasers, metamaterials and more, researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstrated the first optoelectronically active 3-D photonic crystal.

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Jul 24, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (15) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Researchers crack full-spectrum solar challenge

In a paper published in Nature Photonics, U of T Engineering researchers report a new solar cell that may pave the way to inexpensive coatings that efficiently convert the sun's rays to electricity.

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Jun 26, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (24) | comments 9 | with audio podcast

Study raises questions on what causes silicon solar cell degradation

(PhysOrg.com) -- After several hours of exposure to sunlight, silicon solar cells experience light-induced degradation, which can decrease their efficiency by up to 10%. In a new study, scientists have attempted ...

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Jun 03, 2011 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast feature

3-D nanocone solar cell technology cranks up efficiency

(PhysOrg.com) -- With the creation of a 3-D nanocone-based solar cell platform, a team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Jun Xu has boosted the light-to-power conversion efficiency of photovoltaics by ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Apr 29, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (12) | comments 7 | with audio podcast

New solar cell self-repairs like natural plant systems

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers are creating a new type of solar cell designed to self-repair like natural photosynthetic systems in plants by using carbon nanotubes and DNA, an approach aimed at increasing service ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Jan 04, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (11) | comments 10 | with audio podcast

Scientists generate two energetic electronic states from one photon

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the University of Colorado, Boulder (UCB), have reported the first designed molecular system ...

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Dec 03, 2010 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (14) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

New solar energy conversion process could revamp solar power production

Stanford engineers have figured out how to simultaneously use the light and heat of the sun to generate electricity in a way that could make solar power production more than twice as efficient as existing ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Aug 02, 2010 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (64) | comments 38 | with audio podcast

A Puzzling Collapse of Earth's Upper Atmosphere

NASA-funded researchers are monitoring a big event in our planet's atmosphere. High above Earth's surface where the atmosphere meets space, a rarefied layer of gas called "the thermosphere" recently collapsed ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Jul 15, 2010 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (47) | comments 45 | with audio podcast