[LINK] solar cells

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

'Cling-film' solar cells could lead to advance in renewable energy
 
<http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=21973.php>

(Nanowerk News) A scientific advance in renewable energy which promises a 
revolution in the ease and cost of using solar cells, has been announced 
today, Monday 4 July 2011. 

A new study shows that even when using very simple and inexpensive 
manufacturing methods - where flexible layers of material are deposited 
over large areas like cling-film - efficient solar cell structures can be 
made.  

The study, published in the journal Advanced Energy Materials paves the 
way for new solar cell manufacturing techniques and the promise of 
developments in renewable solar energy.

Plastic (polymer) solar cells are much cheaper to produce than 
conventional silicon solar cells and have the potential to be produced in 
large quantities. 

Dr Andrew Parnell of the University of Sheffield said, "Our results give 
important insights into how ultra-cheap solar energy panels for domestic 
and industrial use can be manufactured on a large scale. 

Rather than using complex and expensive fabrication methods to create a 
specific semiconductor nanostructure, high volume printing could be used 
to produce nano-scale (60 nano-meters) films of solar cells that are over 
a thousand times thinner than the width of a human hair. 

These films could then be used to make cost-effective, light and easily 
transportable plastic solar cell devices such as solar panels."  

"Over the next fifty years society is going to need to supply the growing 
energy demands of the world's population without using fossil fuels, and 
the only renewable energy source that can do this is the Sun", said 
Professor Richard Jones of the University of Sheffield. 

"In a couple of hours enough energy from sunlight falls on the Earth to 
satisfy the energy needs of the Earth for a whole year, but we need to be 
able to harness this on a much bigger scale than we can do now. Cheap and 
efficient polymer solar cells that can cover huge areas could help move 
us into a new age of renewable energy."

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Cheers,
Stephen