A group from the University has received a nearly $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation for development and research on developing a way to produce solar cells using nanotechnology, according to a UNM press release.
This could in turn translate into more cost-effective solar panels for residences and businesses, according to the release.
The project, which began in September and will continue through August 2020, is part of the Scalable Nanomanufacturing Award program through the NSF, the release states.
“The grant of nearly $1 million over four years will support the science and engineering group to make solar cells more efficient by trapping the sunlight more effectively than currently possible,” said Sang Eon Han, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering and lead researcher of the project.
According to the release, increasing solar cell efficiency has been a hot topic of research for several years and previous approaches have not been largely successful. However, the UNM team said their approach relies upon a different technology than previous attempts.
“The advantage of our approach is that it could make solar cells more cost-effective and easier to produce,” Eon Han said.
Eon Han said in the release that UNM's research is unique because it uses nanostructures of “controlled symmetry” in solar cells.
“Currently, solar cells are produced with randomly-shaped and macroscopically-sized corrugations to trap sunlight, and that works,” he said.
Effective light trapping could reduce the weight of solar cells, according to the release. Reducing weight continues to be a challenge in solar cell production, and making solar cells lighter and easier to transport and install could also expand the use of solar energy in homes and businesses.
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