Slashdot Mirror
Inkjet Printing Solar Cells
cylonlover writes "Traditional solar cell production techniques are usually time consuming and require expensive vacuum systems or toxic chemicals. Depositing chemical compounds such as CIGS on a substrate using vapor phase deposition also wastes most of the expensive material in the process. For the first time, engineers at Oregon State University (OSU) have now developed a process to create 'CIGS' solar cells with inkjet printing technology that allows for precise patterning to reduce raw material waste by 90 percent and significantly lower the cost of producing solar cells with promising, yet expensive compounds."
... and then when they hit the market, the Slashdot discussion will consist of 50 comments along the lines of "This isn't news, this is old tech, I remember reading about this back in 2011"...
Seriously, if you *only* want to hear about innovations once they've hit the market, why are you reading a tech news site? Just browse the Amazon electronics department instead and you'll be safe.