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Scientists create hair thin solar cells
Tuesday April 10, 2012 08:23:19 PM,
IANS
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London: Scientists
have created solar cells so thin and flexible that they can be
wrapped around a single strand of human hair.
The ultra-thin film consists of electrodes on a plastic foil and
is only 1.9 micrometres thick, a tenth of the thinnest solar cells
present available, according to researchers.
Being extremely thin, light and flexible, they can be used in
portable electrical charging devices or electronic textiles worn
on clothing, the journal Nature Communications reports.
Tsuyoshi Sekitani, from the University of Tokyo, said: "Being
ultra-thin means you don't feel its weight and it is elastic. You
could attach the device t your clothes like a badge to collect
electricity (from the sun).
"Elderly people who might want to wear sensors to monitor their
health would not need to carry around batteries," added Sekitani,
according to the Telegraph.
Scientists and consumers in Japan are increasingly turning to
alternative energy sources following last year's nuclear crisis in
Fukushima.
Hopefully, the new ultra-thin solar cells, which were created
jointly by researchers from Johannes Kepler University of Austria
and contributors from University of Tokyo, will be put to
practical use within around five years.
The research team are now working on increasing the rate at which
the device is able to convert sunlight into electricity in order
to apply it to specific appliances, as well as exploring an
increase in cell size, according to Sekitani.
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