New Nanowires May Contribute to Highly Efficient Solar Cells
ScienceDaily (Nov. 13, 2009) — Danish nanophysicists have developed a new method for manufacturing the cornerstone of nanotechnology research — nanowires. The discovery has great potential for the development of nanoelectronics and highly efficient solar cells.
It is PhD student Peter Krogstrup, Nano-Science Center, the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen, who developed the method during his dissertation.
“We have changed the recipe for producing nanowires. This means that we can produce nanowires that contain two different semiconductors, namely gallium indium arsenide and indium arsenide. It is a big breakthrough, because for first time on a nanoscale, we can combine the good characteristics of the two materials, thus gaining new possibilities for the electronics of the future,” explains Peter Krogstrup.
We can capture more of the sun’s light
Today only approximately 1 % of the world’s electricity comes from solar energy. This is because it is difficult to convert solar energy into electricity. It is a great advantage for the researchers to be able to combine different semiconductors in the same nanowire.
“Different materials capture energy from the sun in different and quite specific absorption areas. When we manufacture nanowires of gallium indium arsenide and indium arsenide, which each have their own absorption area, they can collectively capture energy from a much wider area.
“We can therefore utilize more solar energy, if we produce nanowires from the two superconductors and use them for solar cells,” explains Peter Krogstrup
The nanowires of gallium indium arsenide and indium arsenide also have great potential in nanoelectronics. They can, for example, be used in the new OLED displays and LEDs. But it requires sharp transitions between the two materials in the nanowire.
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