IBM researchers are developing solar cells with conventional materials. Researchers AdvancedMaterials papers published, saying that you can use conventional materials, a relatively efficient manufacturing of solar cells. Such cells may be from 9.6% of solar energy into electrical energy, the photovoltaic conversion efficiency higher than 40% of today’s technologies. This conversion efficiency is much higher than silicon cells available on the market, and even comparable to the efficiency of solar cells in thin layers. IBM’s use of traditional materials for the manufacture of solar cells, u4873, d5318 , such as copper, zinc, tin, sulfur or selenium. IBM said that solar energy technologies used in existing equipment often limited its development.
Companies in the solar industry announced they were using cadmium and tellurium thin-film batteries. GE also plans to begin selling next year, batteries cadmium telluride material. Some small companies like Nanosolar, HelioVolt and Miasolé in the production of copper, indium, gallium and selenium solar cells made of alloy material.
IBM researchers TeodorTodorov, KathleenReuter and DavidMitz the aforementioned shortcomings of the battery is to use either the raw materials are scarce, or the impact on the environment. This means that these batteries need to consider the environmental costs. IBMT.J.Watson Research Laboratory, director of physical sciences ThomasTheis said: “The other subjects equally effective battery contained in either very expensive or impact on the environment, f2024a , or not much room for further increasing the efficiency, making their business with large size, it was difficult to spread. ”
Compared to conventional batteries, the benefits of thin-film batteries is to use the equipment is relatively low. IBM solar cells can be used to produce manufacturing techniques at high speed, such as “Rolling Manufacturing Technology” (roll-to-rollmanufacturing). U. S. National Laboratory for research on Sustainable Energy MatthewBeard involved in the research project of IBM, this technology is a breakthrough. ”
Scientists expected that if the technology can achieve a breakthrough, get 12% of the photoelectric conversion efficiency, resulting in economic costs to completely replace the products of existing solar energy.sony vgp-bps2
