Quantum Dots Could Boost Solar Cell Efficiency ?
A recent discovery shatters the notion that one photon can only excite one electron. Researchers from the joint SLAC-Stanford Pulse Institute for Ultrafast Energy Science are on the move to boost solar cell efficiencies by confirming that a single photon can indeed excite more than one electrons in a quantum dot.
The recent PULSE experiments use ‘quantum dots’, tiny spheres composed of a few thousand atoms, to boost electron interactions by concentrating the electrons into a extremely small area. Researchers found that with quantum dots, 1 photon can excite up to 3 electrons depending on the sunlight’s color. These results mean that solar cell processes could be as much as one third more efficient if constructed with quantum dots. Although there are some difficult scientific and engineering feats to be conquered in the production of a solar cell with quantum dots, such a technology could one day revolutionize solar power.
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The recent PULSE experiments use ‘quantum dots’, tiny spheres composed of a few thousand atoms, to boost electron interactions by concentrating the electrons into a extremely small area. Researchers found that with quantum dots, 1 photon can excite up to 3 electrons depending on the sunlight’s color. These results mean that solar cell processes could be as much as one third more efficient if constructed with quantum dots. Although there are some difficult scientific and engineering feats to be conquered in the production of a solar cell with quantum dots, such a technology could one day revolutionize solar power.
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Labels: efficiency, energy, solar
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