H
H. E. Taylor
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
2005/06/17: Eureka: New study: Why solar cells lose potency
ATHENS, Ohio – Commercial products such as laptop computer monitors and
solar-powered calculators are constructed from a light-sensitive material
with a peculiar problem: When exposed to intense light, it forms defects,
reducing the efficiency of the solar cells by 10 to 15 percent.
Scientists have been pondering this flaw since the 1970s, because the material
– hydrogenated amorphous silicon, or a-Si:H – has important applications for
solar energy generation. A new study reported in the June 13 issue of the
journal Applied Physics Letters, however, suggests that Ohio University
scientists may have found the root of the problem.
When this photovoltaic material is exposed to intense light, hydrogen atoms
move into new arrangements in which some silicon atoms become bonded to two
silicon and two hydrogen atoms, creating a structure called silicon dihydride,
or SiH2, said David Drabold, Presidential Research Scholar and professor of
physics and astronomy at Ohio University, who co-authored the paper with
graduate student Tesfaye Abtew and P. C. Taylor, Distinguished Professor of
Physics at the University of Utah.
[...]
<http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-06/ou-nsw061705.php>
<regards>
-het
--
"It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those
three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom
of conscience, and the prudence to practice neither." -Mark Twain
PV FAQ: http://www.autobahn.mb.ca/~het/energy/pv_faq.html
H.E. Taylor http://www.autobahn.mb.ca/~het/
ATHENS, Ohio – Commercial products such as laptop computer monitors and
solar-powered calculators are constructed from a light-sensitive material
with a peculiar problem: When exposed to intense light, it forms defects,
reducing the efficiency of the solar cells by 10 to 15 percent.
Scientists have been pondering this flaw since the 1970s, because the material
– hydrogenated amorphous silicon, or a-Si:H – has important applications for
solar energy generation. A new study reported in the June 13 issue of the
journal Applied Physics Letters, however, suggests that Ohio University
scientists may have found the root of the problem.
When this photovoltaic material is exposed to intense light, hydrogen atoms
move into new arrangements in which some silicon atoms become bonded to two
silicon and two hydrogen atoms, creating a structure called silicon dihydride,
or SiH2, said David Drabold, Presidential Research Scholar and professor of
physics and astronomy at Ohio University, who co-authored the paper with
graduate student Tesfaye Abtew and P. C. Taylor, Distinguished Professor of
Physics at the University of Utah.
[...]
<http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-06/ou-nsw061705.php>
<regards>
-het
--
"It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those
three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom
of conscience, and the prudence to practice neither." -Mark Twain
PV FAQ: http://www.autobahn.mb.ca/~het/energy/pv_faq.html
H.E. Taylor http://www.autobahn.mb.ca/~het/
