Transparent solar panel in screen charges an Alcatel phone
Researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) have developed a technology that uses transparent, uncolored plastic, which can be placed over windows or smartphone screens, to produce electricity from sunlight. The new technology is called a transparent luminescent solar contractor and absorbs non-visible wavelengths.
For the new solar harvesting system, the research team developed organic molecules that absorb specific wavelengths, which are not visible to the human eye. Afterwards, those are transported to thin strips of photovoltaic cells at the side of the plastic, which then convert the light into electricity. Because the absorbed wavelengths are not visible to us, the material looks transparent. If the technology can be scaled up, a whole new spectrum of photovoltaic applications will open up. The current conversion efficiency is around 1%, however the group is aiming to reach an efficiency of 5 % when the invention is fully optimized.
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