By Naimish Upadhyay March 2, 2010 California Institute of Technology , Daniel Turner-Evans , electrical power , Emily Warren , Harry Atwater , internal quantum efficiency , Jan Petykiewicz , Joshua Spurgeon , Michael Kelzenberg , Morgan Putnam , Nathan Lewis , optical concentration , photons , photovoltaic , Resnick Institute , Ryan Briggs , scattering interactions , semiconductor , Shannon Boettcher , silicone , solar cells
Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have developed a new type of solar cell that comprise of arrays of thin silicon wires embedded in polymer substrate. The unique optical interactions between these wires provide the cells with an enhanced light absorption capability and improved internal quantum efficiency over conventional solar cells. These new cells are much cheaper to produce on account of the very low amounts of silicon needed to build them. The superior structural flexibility possessed by the silicon wire array solar cells is expected to further reduce their production cost since they can be produced using a lower-cost process.
By Chris de Morsella May 6, 2009 Actinides , Adaptive Materials , advanced catalysis , advanced energy storage , advanced nuclear energy systems , advanced nuclear systems , Albuquerque , Alex Zunger , American Recovery and Reinvestment Act , Amherst , Ann Arbor , ANSER , Argonne IL , Argonne National Laboratory , Arizona , Arizona State University , Armstrong Neal , atomic scale , Atomic Scale Design , Atomic-Level Synthesis , Austin , Bartosz Grzybowski , Baton Rouge , Berend Smit , Berkeley , Berkeley CA , bio-polymers , biofuels , biomass , Brent Gunnoe , brookhaven National Laboratory , C3Bio , California , California Institute of Technology , Cambridge , carbon capture , carbon sequestration , carbon-neutral energy , Carnegie Institute of Washington , Chapel Hill , Charlottesville , Chas , Christopher Marshall , CIS:HSEM , CITFAM , Clare P. Grey , Clean Energy Technologies , coal , College Park , Colorado , Columbia , Columbia University , combustion Science , Computational Catalysis , Cornell University , Danforth Plant Science Center , Daniel Cosgrove , David Wesolowski , Deleware , Department of Energy , Dieter Wolf , Dionisios Vlachos , DOE , Donald DePaolo , Donald Morelli , East Lansing , efficient combustion , EFRC , Efree , electrical energy storage , electricity storage , electrode components , emergent Superconductivity , Emerging Materials , Energy Conversion , energy economy , energy efficiency , Energy Frontier Research Center , Evsnston , excitonics , fossil fuels , Fritz Prinz , Gang Chen , Gary A. Pope , Gary Rubloff , Gas Separations , General Electric Global Research , Geologic CO2 , geological storage of carbon dioxide , Golden CO , greenhouse gases , Grigorii Soloveichik , Gust J. Devens , Harry Atwater , Hector Abruna , Ho-Kwang Mao , hung K. Law , hybrid inorganic-organic materials , Hybrid Solar-Electric Materials , hydrocarbon gases , hydrogen , IACT , Idaho , Idaho Falls ID , Idaho National Laboratory , Illanois , Indiana , Ithaca , J.C. Davis , James Spivey , James Yardley , Jerry Simmons , John Bowers , Kenneth Reifsnider , Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Light-Material Interactions , lignocellulose Pennsylvania State University , Los Alamos , Los Alamos National Laboratory , Los Angeles , Louisiana State University , Malcolm Stocks , Marc Baldo , Maryland. , Massachusets , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , materials sciences , Maureen McCann , Michael Nastasi , Michael Thackeray , Michael Wasielewski , Michigan , Michigan State University , Missouri , MIT , molecular catalysts , Molecularly Assembly , Morris Bullock , nanoparticles , Nanoscale , nanoscale architectures , nanoscale material architectures , Nanostructuring , National Renewable Energy Laboratory , natural photosynthesis , New Jersey , New Mexico , New York , Newark DE , Niskayuna , NOCESC , North Carolina , Northwestern University Evanston IL , Nuclear Fuel , Oak Ridge , Oak Ridge National Laboratory , Office of Science , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , Pasadena , Paul Barbara , Paul Daniel Dapkus , Peter C. Burns , Peter Green , Photovoltaics , plutonium , predictive combustion , predictive computational models , president obama , Princeton , Princeton University , Purdue University , renewable energy , Richard Sayre , Richland , Robert Blankenship , S3TEC CENTER , Sandia National Laboratories , Santa Barbara , Seamus , SECCM , Secretary of Energy Steven Chu , self-assembled polymer materials , solar energy , Solar Fuel , solid state lighting , SOuth Carolina , St. Louis , Stanford CA , Stanford University , State University of New York , Steven Chu , Stony Brook , superconductivity , Tempe AZ , Tennessee , Texas , thin films , Thomas Meyer , Tuscon , UCLA , UCSB , United States , University of Arizona , University of California , University of Delaware , University of Maryland , University of Massachusetts , University of Michigan , University of North Carolina , University of Notre Dame , University of South Carolina , University of Southern California , University of Texas , University of Virginia , Upton NY , uranium , USC , Victor Klimov , Vidvuds Ozolins , Virginia , Washington , Washington D.C. , Washington University , West Lafayette , White House
The White House announced that the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science will invest $777 million in Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) over the next five years. In a national effort to accelerate scientific advances in critical areas of the new energy economy the United States Department of Energy (DOE) will establish 46 new multi-million dollar Energy Frontier Research Centers (or EFRCs) across the nation.
