Jason
Member • Mar 26, 2014
NTU Researchers Develop Solar Cells That Absorb Light By The Day And Shine By The Night
The scientists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have developed a new solar-cell material, which in addition to converting light to electricity, also emits light. Perovskite, a material that could hold the key to inexpensive solar cells, is used to develop these solar cells.
The discovery was made when NTU physicist Sum Tze Chien, asked researcher Xing Guichuan to shine a laser beam on a sample of the Perovskite solar cell material. As a result of that, to the team’s surprise, the material glowed brightly. This observance was considered noteworthy because most solar cell materials are not expected to generate light after it is absorbed. The team also pointed out that the new material can also be used for making lasers. Its property of light emission makes it useful as light decorations or displays in shopping malls and offices. It can be modified to emit a wide range of colours and can be used in light emitting devices like flat-screen TV’s and monitors. This material is five times cheaper than the present Silicon-based solar cells due to a simplified manufacturing process.
The NTU team, consisting of eight scientists and researchers, has been working on this Perovskite research project since early 2013. The project was funded by NTU and the National Research Foundation (NRF) Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore, under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme. The success of this project has won praise from many experts including a dignitary from the United States.
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The discovery was made when NTU physicist Sum Tze Chien, asked researcher Xing Guichuan to shine a laser beam on a sample of the Perovskite solar cell material. As a result of that, to the team’s surprise, the material glowed brightly. This observance was considered noteworthy because most solar cell materials are not expected to generate light after it is absorbed. The team also pointed out that the new material can also be used for making lasers. Its property of light emission makes it useful as light decorations or displays in shopping malls and offices. It can be modified to emit a wide range of colours and can be used in light emitting devices like flat-screen TV’s and monitors. This material is five times cheaper than the present Silicon-based solar cells due to a simplified manufacturing process.
The NTU team, consisting of eight scientists and researchers, has been working on this Perovskite research project since early 2013. The project was funded by NTU and the National Research Foundation (NRF) Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore, under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme. The success of this project has won praise from many experts including a dignitary from the United States.
Source: #-Link-Snipped-#