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The road to solar cell supremacy

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David L. Shenkenberg, Features Editor, [email protected]

The silicon traditionally used to make solar panels is costly and inefficient at converting sunlight into electricity, experts say, yet it remains the material most commonly used to make solar panels. “This sounds rather ugly, but silicon is the best choice we have at this time,” remarked John Benner of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo., a US government facility responsible for developing and promoting solar technologies. “It delivers the best combination of performance, cost and reliability for most applications,” he added. Underdeveloped regions of...Read full article

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    Published: October 2009
    Glossary
    efficiency
    As applied to a device or machine, the ratio of total power input to the usable power output of the device.
    heterojunction
    A heterojunction is a junction formed between two different semiconductor materials with differing band gaps. These materials can be of the same or different types (e.g., both n-type, both p-type, or one n-type and one p-type), and they possess different electronic properties. Band gap difference: The primary characteristic is the difference in band gap energies between the two materials. This leads to unique electronic and optical properties at the interface. Energy band alignment:...
    homojunction
    A junction between semiconductors that differ in their doping level conductivities but not in their atomic or alloy compositions.
    nano
    An SI prefix meaning one billionth (10-9). Nano can also be used to indicate the study of atoms, molecules and other structures and particles on the nanometer scale. Nano-optics (also referred to as nanophotonics), for example, is the study of how light and light-matter interactions behave on the nanometer scale. See nanophotonics.
    quantum dots
    A quantum dot is a nanoscale semiconductor structure, typically composed of materials like cadmium selenide or indium arsenide, that exhibits unique quantum mechanical properties. These properties arise from the confinement of electrons within the dot, leading to discrete energy levels, or "quantization" of energy, similar to the behavior of individual atoms or molecules. Quantum dots have a size on the order of a few nanometers and can emit or absorb photons (light) with precise wavelengths,...
    siemens
    The electric conductance of a conductor in which a current of 1 ampere is produced by an electric potential difference of 1 volt.
     iSuppli Lux Research manufacturingamorphous siliconBasic ScienceBIPVblack siliconbuilding-integrated photovoltaicsCaliforniacarbon nanotubesCDsCdTechlorophyllCIGSCyriumDavid L. Shenkenbergdye-sensitized solar cellsDyesolefficiencyenergyFeaturesFirst SolarGermanygrid parityHeegerHemlock SemiconductorHenning WichtheterojunctionhomojunctionindustrialItalyJapanJohn BennerKonarkamonocrystalline siliconmultijunctionnanonanopillarsNanosolarNoon SolarNRELplastic solar cellspolycrystalline siliconpolymer solar cellspolysiliconPower Plasticprice marketQ-Cellsquantum dotsSensors & DetectorsSharp SolarSiemensSiOnyxsolar cellssolar concentratorssolar panelsSolyndraSpainSpectrolabSPIRESunrivaSuntechTesserathin filmstubularUnited Solar OvanicWacker Chemie

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