Dirty Silicon Technique Could Pave Way for Cheaper Solar Energy

Berkeley, California – A research team led by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, has developed a new technique to handle metal defects in low-grade silicon, an advance that could dramatically reduce the cost of solar cells. “We have proposed a new approach to the use of dirty silicon,” said Eicke Weber, UC Berkeley professor of materials science and engineering, principal investigator of the Center for Advanced Materials at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and principal investigator of this research project. “Instead of taking the impurities out, we can leave them in but manipulate them in a way that reduces their detrimental impact on the solar cell efficiency.” The researchers say the findings, published Aug. 14 in the journal Nature Materials, could dramatically reduce the cost of solar cells by making the use of cheaper materials feasible. “Solar energy is often touted as the most promising and secure alternative energy source, capable of reducing our dependence on foreign fuels while reducing the emission of dangerous gases that harm world climate,” said Weber. “The current worldwide growth rate of photovoltaics is 30 to 45 percent per year, which is nothing short of amazing. However, the solar energy industry could […]

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