NTU researchers develop cheaper yet efficient thin film solar cells

NTU researchers develop cheaper yet efficient thin film solar cells

Published on : 12-Oct-2011

Researchers in Singapore have exploited advanced nanostructure technology to make a highly efficient and yet cheaper silicon solar cell. With this development, the researchers hope that the cost of solar energy can be halved.

Developed jointly by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics (IME), the new thin-film silicon solar cells are designed to be made from cheaper, low grade silicon. However it is able to generate electricity currents close to that produced by traditional solar cells made from costly, high quality silicon.

The new NTU-A*STAR nano-structured solar cells can produce a current of (34.3mA/cm2) – a world record for a silicon solar cell of its kind.

This is made possible by creating a unique texture using nanostructures – which is thousands of times smaller than human hair – on the surface of the solar cell.

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Sputnik Left Legacy for U.S. Science Education

by Larry Abramson

September 30, 2007

When Sputnik's "beep" first reached Earth on Oct. 4, 1957, many Americans dreaded that the Russian satellite was spying on them.

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Reviving Science

America's scientific community, which had long been pushing for a new direction in science education, seized on the national mood to rejuvenate the curriculum. The effort was spearheaded by notable scientists such as the late David Hawkins, an assistant to A-bomb designer J. Robert Oppenheimer. In a 1983 essay, Hawkins reflected on his work. He answered those who said that there was no time for the reforms, no time to "reinvent the wheel."

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Federal Assistance

Washington gave the new science curriculum an infusion of more than a billion dollars when it passed the National Defense Education Act in 1958 — big money back then. Gerry Wheeler, former head of the National Science Teachers Association, says the new focus made science sexy.

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Losing Focus

But that burst of enthusiasm was overtaken by new demands. Educators became preoccupied with the effort to expand access to education during the civil rights era. More recently, the No Child Left Behind Act has focused on reading and basic math, not on science.

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