Newly discovered technology could revolutionalize the solar industry as we know it today. The sensitivity of the new black silicon technology to light is 100 to 500 more sensitive than traditional silicon wafer solar panels.
Now all we need is the leadership to put money into this new technology and make it a real product.
We need the mentality that we have when our country is being attacked by a foreign power.
If we can put a man on the moon in less than a decade surely we can make this and other new ideas a reality and get off of the oil economy in a decade or less.
The material was discovered when a team of Harvard University scientists shone an ultra-powerful laser (briefly producing the same amount of energy as the sun falling on the entire surface of the Earth) on a silicon wafer, before adding sulphur hexafluoride. The result was a silicon wafer that looked black to the naked eye, but when examined under an electron microscope turned out to be covered with a massive amount of ultra-tiny spikes.
This kind of sounds like the 3D solar but it looks like it could be easier to produce. The key to all these new designs is the cost per watt. Ideally we want to see $1 or less per watt. The next thing we would like to see is higher efficiencies which equates to more watts in less space. If we could get efficiency 60 and 80 percent than installing solar on our cars makes sense. Imagine a car running all day powered by the light of day.
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: | 3D solar, black silicon, oil economy, photovoltaic, sicon wafer
