Quote:
Originally Posted by Ford Prefect
Not to be dismissive of this news, but researchers at MIT already came up with something that sounds pretty much the same, except the MIT guys boast a 50% increase in efficiency.
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/s...ency-1126.html
"Using computer modeling and a variety of advanced chip-manufacturing techniques, they have applied an antireflection coating to the front, and a novel combination of multi-layered reflective coatings and a tightly spaced array of lines -- called a diffraction grating -- to the backs of ultrathin silicon films to boost the cells' output by as much as 50 percent."
Or is the stuff the guys in Edmonton developed news because it's cheaper and more suitable for mass marketing? |
Yup, that's exactly it. The MIT guys are working with the high-end silicon ones, which there will always be a market for, especially if you want something that can generate enough power for an off the grid building. But if I'm looking for something to put on my garage roof to help offset the cost of running my power tools, something like the technology the Edmonton guys are working with is going to be a better fit.