Organic Solar Cell Technology Moves Forward

[jpak]

http://www.renewableaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=49362

While the technology is still two to three years from being commercially viable, a professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara and a team of Korean scientists have created a new "tandem" organic solar cell with a six and a half percent efficiency.

Developed at the Center for Polymers and Organic Solids at the university, the technology advancement was a joint effort between Nobel laureate, and professor, Alan Heeger and Kwanghee Lee of Korea. The discovery, explained in the July 13 issue of the journal Science, marks a step forward in materials science.

"The result is six and a half percent efficiency," said Heeger, who co-founded Konarka Technologies in 2000 to develop and market solar cells based on this technology. "This is the highest level achieved for solar cells made from organic materials. I am confident that we can make additional improvements that will yield efficiencies sufficiently high for commercial products."

Tandem cells are comprised of two multilayered parts that work together to gather a wider range of the spectrum of solar radiation—at both shorter and longer wavelengths. Heeger and Lee, who have collaborated in the past on the advancement of solar cell efficiency, expect this technology to be on the market in about three years.

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[glowing]

1. And while we decide what renewable source to switch to, other

countries are already doing... Guess we'll be out-done again.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Without a doubt

[Bread and Circus]

3. Not so fast.... there are many innovations occuring right here...

and there are many companies on the forefront of it.

Of course, we are collaborating with other nations like Germany and Spain, but it's happening.

There is really A LOT going on.