Important Innovations Collection

New Innovation from German-French Collaboration Source:  Fraunhofer Efficiency Potential 25% Scientists at Germany's Fraunhofer ISE and the French Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology have invented an ultra slim and more efficient solar cell.  The researchers have trapped sunlight in a solar cell by incorporating an absorbing material on a nanostructured back mirror.  The cell's efficiency is 20% and the scientists believe they can slim it down further and increase efficiency to 25% in the short term. Nanostructures Up until this breakthrough, state of the art solar cells required layers of semiconductors at least one micrometer thick.  The team says controlling the fabrication process of the patterned mirror at the nanometer scale is the key to their breakthrough.  The mirror traps the light in an absorber and improves optical absorption and efficiency.  The team is looking to put the new solar cells into large scale production.  Their...

Heart Pacemaker Powered by Ligh t Stock Photo: Sunrise Over Mountain  Solar Energy Heart Beats This is a tiny, solar cell that keeps the heart beating.  In fact, it seems to teach the heart how to beat.  It's an innovation that may lead to heart pacemakers powered by light. It's breaking new innovation invented by scientists at the University of Chicago.  It's totally new and quite exciting. Specs They've created a flexible mesh from silicon that wraps around the heart. They threaded nanowires across it to connect with cardiac cells.  When activated by light, it creates a tiny electrochemical effect that stimulates the heart muscles in a unique way.  A small optical beam scans the heart area with a laser.  Each flash activates the cells, causing the heart to beat at the rate of the light. Breakthrough Medical Innovation This  research has been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  The researc...

Flexible, Organic Solar Cells Developed Source:  Rice University Valuable for Constant, Low Power Generation A team of scientists led by Rice University along with Brookhaven National Lab have developed  organic, flexible solar cells.  The photovoltaics are valuable for constant, low power generation.  The scientists accomplished this breakthrough by adding a chemical reagent that provides flexibility to the material while maintaining its efficiency. Organic Value Organic solar cells are inexpensive, lightweight, semitransparent and thin.  They use carbon based material like polymers to capture sunlight as opposed to hard inorganics like silicon.  The team built in the flexibility by using the sulfur based additive thiol-ene.  They found at 20% thiol-ene the cells retained their efficiency and gained flexibility.  The results were just published in the journal Chemistry of Materials.  For more on the latest in renewable energy ...