Nanowire Solar Cells

Results: In a step toward cheaper and more efficient solar cells, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, have made solar cells out of billions of nanowires, each wire about 60 nanometers in diameter and 20 micrometers in length. The nanowires, made of zinc oxide and coated in a light-absorbing dye, conducted electrons from one end of the cell to the other about 100 times more efficiently than other nanoparticle-based solar cells currently under development. The solar cells’ overall light-conversion efficiency, however, was a relatively poor 1.5 percent.

Why It Matters:…

… Yang predicts that with thinner and more numerous titanium wires, his team will be able to achieve a conversion efficiency of 10 percent or more, which could make these nano solar cells a viable source of energy.

Technology Review