MIT announces possible solar cell break through | Alternative Energy | Forums

this could be huge

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology published a paper this week in the journal Nature Energy in which they describe how they built a working solar thermophotovoltaic device (STPV). Using this revolutionary new setup, the researchers think they can dramatically increase the amount of energy solar panels generate by harnessing some of the energy current panels waste.

A normal solar cell converts sunlight into energy and delivers it to a storage mechanism. Meanwhile, the heat energy created in the process simply dissipates and is wasted. Scientists have been working for years to find a way to harness some of that wasted heat, and now it appears as though the team at MIT is onto something.

The MIT researchers have added a new layer to a solar cell’s structure that absorbs heat energy and converts it to light, which is then reflected off to another solar cell. The reflected light is also delivered to the second cell at the perfect wavelength for peak efficiency.

more http://bgr.com/2016/.....ubled-mit/