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Flexible, Fiber-Optic Solar Cell Could Be Woven Into Clothing
MrSeb writes "An international team of engineers, physicists, and chemists have created the first fiber-optic solar cell. These fibers are thinner than human hair, flexible, and yet they produce electricity, just like a normal solar cell. The U.S. military is already interested in weaving these threads into clothing, to provide a wearable power source for soldiers. In essence, the research team started with optical fibers made from glass — and then, using high-pressure chemical vapor deposition, injected n-, i-, and p-type silicon into the fiber, turning it into a solar cell (abstract). Functionally, these silicon-doped fiber-optic threads are identical to conventional solar cells, generating electricity from the photovoltaic effect. Whereas almost every solar cell on the market is crafted out of 2D, planar amorphous silicon on a rigid/brittle glass substrate, though, these fiber-optic solar cells have a 3D cross-section and retain the glass fiber's intrinsic flexibility. The lead researcher, John Badding of Penn State University, says the team has already produced 'meters-long fiber,' and that their new technique could be used to create 'bendable silicon solar-cell fibers of over 10 meters in length.' From there, it's simply a matter of weaving the thread into a fabric."
Forget about the military applications, think about never having to charge your iDevice/Droid again! ...just plug it into your shirt. ^_^
Just curious, how much energy would it generate given the surface area of power lines strewn along light poles for hundreds of miles.. Would it over those lengths generate enough energy to juice those power lines and power a grid? Or at least to help power it?
Could we weave Begley Cloth now for or planetary colonization efforts?
Uh, yeah. Let me guess. It should be on the market in five years, just like every other solar technical wonder.
Proverbs 21:19
They could also be woven into curtains to provide electricity for homes, enough perhaps for digital gadgets and some LED lighting.
How is this material any better than wearing a fiberglass t-shirt all day? Sounds pretty itchy - and unhealthy.
Dear anyone with access to the abstract, does it include any information on efficiency / how much electricity this generates?
Will this generate enough electricity to power my awsome christmas sweater where rudolf's nose lights up?
How much electricity does it generate? Even a small amount is probably a benefit, but it'd still be interesting to know to understand the full implications of this new technology.
How would something like this hold up under real world use? Clothing is bent and folded, individual fibers are often pinched very tightly and broken. Since electricity requires a closed circuit, wouldn't a break and a fiber render that fiber useless for producing electricity?
with a refractive index of -1. Now if I only can remember where I put it.
Everyone is speculating about how this could be used in clothing, but I think this is the wrong use case. Clothing has too little sun facing surface area to produce the amounts of electricity to be more useful than existing battery tech.
However, the military uses a lot of cloth in large sun facing swaths. Ever seen a tent city? Tents are the perfect use case for this tech. Large surface areas, can be oriented towards the sun, rarely washed, never ironed, and only folded up for transport or storage. Integrating the solar tech into the fabric instead of an extra add on package would be ideal.
Instead of curtains - why not dope the window glass itself with fibres.
A whole apartment block / office block of windows should be able to output a nice amount of power...
"These fibers are thinner than human hair, flexible, and yet they produce electricity, just like a normal solar cell."
Imagine the surface available for photon uptake in fleece form! Fleece, as in Helly Hansen - www.google.com/search?q=helly+hansen+fleece
One square meter of standard, plain photocell surface would possibly be multiplied if made into some brushy/hairy type of material.
Just clip one lead to each nipple before going out at night.
Now we can have powered "power ties".
One of the problems with medical devices is finding a continuous power supply.
It still will be. Solar power is very inconsistant, even if you don't spend the whole day next to a window.
Make half the shirt solar cells and half battery cells. I just want to be able to use this as a nice electric shock to unsuspecting people.
Sorry to post late, snag blackout.
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Couple that with a peltier junction and you will have one happy soldier.
Enough said, sounds like a perfect new fiber for those.
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
HE man - I Have THE POWER
This is the seventh or eighth invention that was supposed to do this.
Maybe I can use it when I drive my flying car.