Advancement News: Fall 2006 taming star power • Taming Star
Power Researchers at Boston College have recently discovered a
way of harnessing solar energy that has the potential to
increase efficiencies by more than 100 percent – all at a cost
per watt competitive with today's fossil fuel prices. The key is
nanoscience, which is the study of matter at the scale of a
nanometer, or one-billionth of a meter. By manipulating the
material through which sunlight passes (e.g., a thin layer of
silicon), BC physicists have found that they can improve the
material's photovoltaic efficiency, or the number of free
electrons that escape from the silicon carrying an electric
charge. "In order to escape, the electrons have to withstand
what is essentially a 50-mile-long demolition derby," notes
Professor of Physics Michael Naughton. "That's why typically
only 10 out of every 100 electrons manage to escape; the others
crash and burn along the way. What we've done is find a way to
shorten the distance of the demolition derby f