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  • #-Link-Snipped-# Sharp broke the record for the world’s highest solar cell conversion efficiency of 37.7% and their new ambitious technology claims to double the current standard. The concept which only exists as a prototype applies exotic physics to maximize the conversion of solar energy to electricity. It is believed that the commercialization of this technology could help bring down the cost of solar panels. In theory, these solar cells could hit efficiencies above 60 percent.

    sharp_solar_cells

    The primary cause behind the inefficiency is low throughput. When sunlight strikes the cells, it generates high-energy electrons, from where the cell is supposed to harvest electricity. Only, the electrons lose that energy to waste heat within a few trillionths of a second. The workaround to this bottleneck uses a thin surface to absorb a single wavelength of sunlight. This helps the device convert most of the energy into electricity. The prerequisites undeniably also limit the device and handicap its practicality but this is the first time that the high-energy electrons have been successfully used to generate electricity. The future of this technology is reliant on nanometers-thick layers of semiconducting materials that provide a shortcut for the high-energy electrons to move out of the solar cell. #-Link-Snipped-#, one of the senior researchers involved in the development of the device, sees the technique as a reinforcement to the efficiency of conventional devices, rather than a foundation to create new ones.

    Source: #-Link-Snipped-#
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  • Suman Kumar Jha

    MemberJun 21, 2014

    Performance of solar panels can also be incerased by better thermal management. Conversion in solar panels depens upon operating temperature range. Conversion rate in panels are decrease by .5% for each degree C increase in temperatur after nominal temperature of 25 degree C.
    There is short of smart materia which has better thermal energy management capacity. By this methods performance of solar panels can be increased by atleast 20%.
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