News Section | Physics
Now, lightweight solar cells that can be printed on paper
Scientists have developed lightweight solar cells that can be printed on paper, be scrunched up like an accordion and still conduct electricity.
These solar cells could be used for wallpaper or window shades and simply installed using staples or glue, reports New Scientist.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology printed them on untreated copy paper using a technique that could help slash the cost of producing solar cells.
The glass or plastic backing typically used for solar cells accounts for 25 to 60 percent of the total cost for materials and so lightweight paper-based cells could significantly reduce photovoltaic production, transportation and installation costs.
A team led by Vladimir Bulovic and Karen Gleason changed an ingredient in the material sandwich that makes up a solar cell.
They used a flexible conducting polymer as the bottom electrode in the sandwich instead of a transparent metal oxide.
The researchers constructed the solar cell using a dry fabrication process, depositing each layer as a vapour dispersed in a vacuum.
At the moment, these paper solar cells are only about 1 percent efficient.
But that’s still enough to run small electronics like an alarm clock.
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