“Black Silicon” Could Increase Photovoltaic Cell Efficiency
Plates of “Black Silicon”
A team of Harvard scientists has developed a technique that greatly increases the efficiency that electrons can move within a silicon matrix. Essentially, they modify silicon crystals by blasting them with a femptosecond laser in the presence of sulfur hexafluoride. This process creates “black silicon” which is much better at absorbing light than normal silicon. Xconomy has a good summary of the process:
Almost ten years ago, graduate students in the laboratory of physics professor Eric Mazur at Harvard University stumbled across a new way of making silicon more responsive: they found that if they blasted the surface of a silicon wafer with an incredibly brief pulse of laser energy in the presence of gaseous sulfur and other dopants, the resulting material—which they called “black silicon”—was much better at absorbing photons and releasing electrons. And this week, after nearly three years in hyper-stealth mode, a spinoff company with an exclusive license from Harvard to commercialize the process has begun talking with reporters.
Executives for the company, called SiOnyx, believe that its technology will help semiconductor manufacturers build far more sensitive detectors and far more efficient photovoltaic cells, using essentially the same silicon-based processes they currently depend on—thereby revolutionizing areas such as medical imaging, digital photography, and solar energy generation.
Photo via: NYTimes
-Ben Connor Barrie
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:03 pm
It is amazing to see all the various solar technologies taking flight. SolFocus, another solar company has come up with concentrated solar panel, where the light is parabolically reflected to a small, central solar panel. They say it intensifies the sunlight by 500%, making it much more efficient than current solar technology.
Perhaps SolFocus could use this “black solar” on their concentrated panels to improve efficiency further.