Solar cells could get quantum boost

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http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/333745/title/Solar_cells_could_get_quantum_boost

Solar cells could get quantum boost

Atoms' fuzzy energy levels could be exploited to enhance photovoltaics and semiconductor lasers, study suggests

By Devin Powell
Web edition : 9:26 am

Adding a bit of quantum fuzz could provide a free power boost to lasers and solar panels. Blurry atoms that can exist in two states at once should help such devices more efficiently harness energy from light, a new analysis suggests.

“The key is … we can now do things in quantum optics that we didn’t think we could do 20 years ago,” says Marlan Scully of Texas A&M University in College Station and Princeton University, who led the new analysis that will appear in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Fuzzy atoms could also be useful building blocks for solar cells. In a solar cell, electrons that leap upward after being struck by sunlight can generate a current. A fuzzy lower energy level in a solar cell should help to keep electrons from falling back downward before they’ve been put to work. This approach could potentially double the current flowing through a solar cell.

Tweaking atomic energy levels could lead to thinner photovoltaics better able to convert sunlight into electricity — pushing the efficiencies beyond the 33 percent limit predicted by “detailed balance” calculations that don’t include this quantum effect.

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