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SILICON NANOCRYSTALS SHOW PROMISE FOR SOLAR CELLS

RESEARCH UPDATE

Speaking of phenomena of silicon that scientists once thought nonexistent (see “Silicon fatigue: not a myth,” above), researchers at the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory have shown that silicon nanocrystals exhibit multiple-exciton generation, meaning that they emit more than one electron per absorbed photon. In theory, solar cells harnessing this effect could achieve effi ciency of 44% using sunlight and as much as 68% using sunlight that lenses or mirrors have concentrated. Conventional solar cells deliver 33 and 40% effi ciency, respectively.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory, www.nrel.gov.