Research sheds light on low-cost solar panels

By: Nicky Lewis

We encourage you to republish this article online and in print, it’s free under our creative commons attribution license, but please follow some simple guidelines:

You have to credit our authors.
You have to credit SciDev.Net — where possible include our logo with a link back to the original article.
You can simply run the first few lines of the article and then add: “Read the full article on SciDev.Net” containing a link back to the original article.
If you want to also take images published in this story you will need to confirm with the original source if you're licensed to use them.
The easiest way to get the article on your site is to embed the code below.

For more information view our media page and republishing guidelines.

The full article is available here as HTML.

Press Ctrl-C to copy

<div class="article-wrap">
<div id="article-introduction">
<h1>Research sheds light on low-cost solar panels</h1>
<h4>By: Nicky Lewis</h4>
</div>
<br />
<br />

<div id="article-body">
<p><TABLE align=right></p>
<p><TR><br />
<TD class=tabletext><IMG src="http://c96265.r65.cf3.rackcdn.com/2003feb_solarpanel.jpg"></TD></TR></TABLE>A new way of producing solar panels could offer an inexpensive alternative to conventional devices, according to the results of research published in this week’s journal <em>Nature</em>.<BR><BR>Since they were first developed in the 1950s, photovoltaic cells — which convert the energy in sunlight to electricity — have usually been made of silicon. But these are expensive to produce, as the silicon needs to be extremely pure, making it difficult for solar power to compete with traditional ways of generating electricity.<BR><BR>Eric W. McFarland and Jing Tang at the University of California, United States, have now created a device that could change this situation. Instead of silicon, their cell uses a layer of brightly coloured dye molecules on a thin gold film to harness the light — similar to the way in which plants harvest light through photosynthesis. <BR><BR>“This alternative approach to photovoltaic energy conversion might provide the basis for durable low-cost solar cells using a variety of materials,” they say.<BR><BR>Dye-based cells are not new. But so far they have struggled to achieve efficiencies that are competitive with current solar energy techniques. The efficiency of McFarland and Tang’s cell is still relatively low (less than 1 per cent), but it does offer promise for the future.<BR><BR>“What is remarkable… is their finding that about 10 per cent of the photons absorbed by the dye layer actually generate electric current,” says Michael Gratzel of the Swiss Institute of Photonics and Interfaces, in a related news and views article. <BR><BR>Many developing countries are already investigating the use of solar panels to provide electricity in remote rural areas that are inaccessible to standard grid-based electricity. The development of cheap solar devices would make more widespread implementation a viable prospect.<BR><BR>© SciDev.Net 2003</p>

</div>
<div class="quick-links-wrapper">
<h3>You might also like</h3>
[related-articles]
</div>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/news/research-sheds-light-on-lowcost-solar-panels/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function(e,t,n,r,i,s,o){e["GoogleAnalyticsObject"]=i;e[i]=e[i]||function(){(e[i].q=e[i].q||[]).push(arguments)},e[i].l=1*new Date;s=t.createElement(n),o=t.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];s.async=1;s.src=r;o.parentNode.insertBefore(s,o)})(window,document,"script","//www.google-analytics.com/ga.js","ga");var _gaq=_gaq||[];var _gaq=_gaq||[];_gaq.push(["_setAccount","UA-3223906-8"],["_trackEvent","article interaction","republished","https://www.scidev.net/global/news/research-sheds-light-on-lowcost-solar-panels/",null,true])
</script>
</div>

A new way of producing solar panels could offer an inexpensive alternative to conventional devices, according to the results of research published in this week’s journal Nature.

Since they were first developed in the 1950s, photovoltaic cells — which convert the energy in sunlight to electricity — have usually been made of silicon. But these are expensive to produce, as the silicon needs to be extremely pure, making it difficult for solar power to compete with traditional ways of generating electricity.

Eric W. McFarland and Jing Tang at the University of California, United States, have now created a device that could change this situation. Instead of silicon, their cell uses a layer of brightly coloured dye molecules on a thin gold film to harness the light — similar to the way in which plants harvest light through photosynthesis.

“This alternative approach to photovoltaic energy conversion might provide the basis for durable low-cost solar cells using a variety of materials,” they say.

Dye-based cells are not new. But so far they have struggled to achieve efficiencies that are competitive with current solar energy techniques. The efficiency of McFarland and Tang’s cell is still relatively low (less than 1 per cent), but it does offer promise for the future.

“What is remarkable… is their finding that about 10 per cent of the photons absorbed by the dye layer actually generate electric current,” says Michael Gratzel of the Swiss Institute of Photonics and Interfaces, in a related news and views article.

Many developing countries are already investigating the use of solar panels to provide electricity in remote rural areas that are inaccessible to standard grid-based electricity. The development of cheap solar devices would make more widespread implementation a viable prospect.

© SciDev.Net 2003