Research Paints Bright Future for Solar Technology

Since Bell Labs began researching solar energy in the 1950’s it has been etched in the minds of people all over the world as a premier alternative fuel in our planets future. Initially used as an energy source on Satellites, solar power has been used throughout the decades following the fifties in many household products. These include everything from watches, to water heaters, to calculators and even street signs, propelling solar powered products from satellites to everyday life. With a recent surge in solar research this could become a far more dependable and cleaner form of energy in the near future.

The secret to solar energy is the electric current that is generated from the solar panels photovoltaic cells. These cells are made from high cost silicon, and are designed to create electrical current through electron motion when stimulated. When solar panels are heated by the sun electrons in the silicon are released and travel from one end of the panel to the other. The flow of these electrons generates a current, providing energy. Silicon based solar panels are the leading energy generators still to this day but only convert about 15-20% of energy in sunlight into electricity. Under laboratory conditions these numbers have been nearly doubled, but this production is still very unlikely in the field.

In search of strategies to increase the percentage of electrical yield from solar energy several new techniques have been investigated. For one some researchers have been trying to appeal to different frequencies light gained from the sun. This would potentially generate more electrical currents at the same time and therefore a higher percentage of the sun power. Other researchers are looking to increases absorption of the suns rays by using metal nanoparticles. These metal particles are thought to excite more electrons on the surface creating a large jump in efficiency.

Possibly the most promising idea however is for the development of quantum dots.
This production aims to group electrons in closer arrangements so that they can excite each other, making energy that is normally lost as heat drive an extra electron to the excited state. In laboratories this has led to far greater expression than the regular silicon panels.

The increased research in solar energy seems to be heading towards becoming one of the premier power sources of the future. Though silicon based generators currently lead the way in production it is also very expensive to produce. The future of solar power will surely find direction in creating higher efficiency power at a hopefully lower cost. These advances in solar technology seem to create a bright future for energy production and environmental protection at the same time.

Posted By, Daniel O'Leary