Tiny Organic Polymer Solar Cells
8 November 2008, 22:18
Categories: smt-energy-photovoltaic sensors
Researchers at the University of South Florida have created an incredibly tiny set of solar cells, and have tested them as a power source for even tinier microscopic machines. The cells were made of an organic polymer that has the same electrical properties as silicon wafers but can be dissolved and printed onto flexible material. The cells were joined together in an experiment aimed at proving their ability to power tiny devices that can be used to detect chemical leaks and for other applications.
“I think these materials have a lot more potential than traditional silicon,” says Xiaomei Jiang, who led the research. “They could be sprayed on any surface that is exposed to sunlight—a uniform, a car, a house.”
The solar panel consists of an inch-long array of 20 of the organic polymer cells (each single cell is approximately one square millimeter). The carbon nanotube MEMS sensor needs a 15-volt power source to work and, so far, Jiang’s solar cell array can provide about half of that—up to 7.8 volts in their laboratory tests.
Posted by: The Editors
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