Silicon nanosponges make solar energy cheaper
Researchers addressing how to improve the efficiency of solar cells without increasing the costs of production have found a way to replace silicon in thin film solar cells by a nanosponge made of silicon.
According to researchers from research centre Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (FZD), the discovery promises to be a good light absorber while improving the electrical yield of the solar cells. Traditional amorphous or nanocrystalline silicone in thin film solar cells has a low efficiency.
The silicon nanosponges are embedded in glass, so are electrically passivated and protected from the environment. Now FZD researchers involved in the project aim to find ways to fabricate silicon nanosponges, investigate their photoelectric characteristics and apply the nanosponges for solar cell production.
Dr Karl-Heinz Heinig of the Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research at the FZD claims the possibility to increase the efficiency of solar cells can be easily adapted to existing production lines, affording only little changes and a low increase in production costs.
