Miniaturizing Solar Panel

PHOTOVOLTAIC cells are already a familiar sight on rooftops. But one day, miniature cells may also be found in more unconventional places: power-generating windows, car sunroofs or a T-shirt. John A. Rogers, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and his team have figured out a new way to define solar energy.They have successfully printed out solar cells on plastic rolls and have made them a tenth of the size of conventional semiconductor cells. This is a groundbreaking discovery and may lead to becoming a major game changer for the solar industry since the material is flexible, cheap and can be applied to almost anything as you can see in the photo below.Dr. Rogers “has figured out how to grab thin layers of silicon or other inorganics, and put them on whatever substrates you want,” Dr. Javey said. Traditional silicon solar cells are rigid, heavy and opaque, but they dominate the technology because they are very reliable and efficient, he said, and because silicon is abundant. Still, the brittleness of silicon limits its uses. Dr. Rogers has figured out how to grab thin layers of silicon or other inorganics, and put them on whatever substrates you want. According to the NY Times interview, Dr. Rogers said he was pleased with the new cells’ flexibility and thinness but said that they offered another even more critical advantage. “That the technology is rollable and transparent is important,” he said. “But cost is the paramount consideration for a lot of solar applications, which have to be low-cost per watt generated.” The technology is producing cells that are often only two microns thick (a micron is one-millionth of a meter). “Thinner allows cheaper,” he said.

See video in side panel (courtesy sciencecentral.com )