February 10th, 2009
New physics as applied to solar tech
Scientists at Los Alamos Lab in New Mexico have confirmed that it’s possible for a single photon to create more than one electron. They have tracked the phenomenon in nanotech semiconductor crystals. This research can enable more efficient solar panels. The research shows a conventional solar cell absorbs a photon of light and releases a single electron to generate electrical current. Energy in excess of the amount needed to promote an electron into a conducting state is lost as heat. In the compact nanotech crystals that excess energy can be transferred to another electron yielding a more efficient solar cell.
This is partly due to strengthened interactions between electrons squeezed together within the confines of the nanoscale particles. Electron overcrowding is a good thing, we learn.
The research ast Los Alamos Lab is federally funded.
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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