Solar Cell Research

There are currently many research groups active in the field of photovoltaics in universities and research institutions around the world. This research can be categorized into three areas:

making current technology solar cells cheaper and/or more efficient to effectively compete with other energy sources;

developing new technologies based on new solar cell architectural designs;

and developing new materials to serve as more efficient energy converters from light energy into electric current or light absorbers and charge carriers.

Nanostructred Solar Cells

Nanostructured materials are being investigated and developed as versatile components of optoelectronic devices with the ability to manipulate light (via plasmonic enhancement, photonic crystals, and so on) and control energy flow at nearly the atomic level. Nanostructured solar cells — a type of third- or next-generation solar cell1 — include those that are based on nanostructures and/or nanostructured interfaces such as nanowire, mesoscopic and quantum dot solar cells. They hold great promise towards new approaches for converting solar energy into either electricity (in photovoltaic devices) or chemical fuels. There are challenges to overcome but the potential benefits are worth the efforts.