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"Black Silicon" Advances Imaging, Solar Energy
waderoush writes "Forcing sulfur atoms into silicon using femtosecond laser pulses creates a material called 'black silicon' that is 100 to 500 times more sensitive to light than conventional silicon, in both the visible and infrared spectrums, according to SiOnyx, a venture-funded Massachusetts start-up that just emerged from stealth mode. Today's New York Times has a piece about the serendipitous discovery of black silicon inside the laboratory of Harvard physicist Eric Mazur. Meanwhile, a report in Xconomy explains how black silicon works and how SiOnyx and manufacturing partners hope to use it to build far more efficient photovoltaic cells and more sensitive detectors for medical imaging devices, surveillance satellites, and consumer digital cameras."
... again. I love solar power, and I realize that it progresses in small increments. But there have been so many stories of "break through" improvements that I don't really care until a profoundly more efficient product is made. Black silicon have twice the sensitivity to light that regular silicon does, which is great news for digital cameras and night vision scopes. I might be great news for solar power, but tell me about it once you have a working prototype with a noteworthy efficiency improvement.
We are all just people.
I might be great news for solar power, but tell me about it once you have a working prototype with a noteworthy efficiency improvement.
From what I've read this story is more about image sensors, but for solar cell applications: I don't understand the fuss about all these 'breakthrough efficiency record' stories. For all but a few applications (think satellites, pocket calculators etc.) efficiency doesn't matter. There is no shortage of sunlight, and therefore no need to turn a maximum of it into electricity. What matters is price per generated electric power ($/Watt), and how long the solar cells will last.
If I'm not mistaken, the solar cell market is hitting the 1 $/Watt mark around now, and growing at what, 10% ? 20% ? 50% per year? Wake me up when solar cells become cheaper than roof tiles, or provide a return on investment in <5 years (for average households), and will last decades after that. Then you have a breakthrough.