Electrical Materials
Flexible CIGS cells hit record efficiency level
May 19, 2011 7:10 am | News | CommentsSwiss researchers say they have established a new efficiency value of 18.7% for cadmium indium selenide gallium (CIGS) solar cells. The latest improvements in cell efficiency were made possible in part by improving the structural properties of the CIGS layer, improving the proprietary low-temperature deposition process, and doping with sodium.
Atomic thicknesses seen with electrostatic force microscopy
May 19, 2011 7:05 am | News | CommentsScientists from the National Physical Laboratory, in collaboration with researchers in Sweden, have shown that regions of graphene of different thickness can be easily identified in ambient conditions using a relatively simple and accessible form of scanning probe microscopy.
Full-color flexible AMOLED video displays hit show circuit
May 18, 2011 7:18 am | News | CommentsThis week at the Society for Information Display show, Arizona State and Universal Display Corp. are showing off their latest milestone: a full-color, full-motion video display prototype built on a flexible substrate. The device, which is intended for military use, was built using a bond-debond approach pioneered at ASU’s Flexible Display Center along with Universal Display’s proprietary encapsulation technology.
Pyroelectric energy harvesters transform waste heat into energy
May 16, 2011 12:46 pm | News | CommentsTiny energy converters being developed Oak Ridge National Lab are designed for deployment in high-performance computer chips as way to use thermal energy to generate power for much-needed cooling. The research team reports that efficiency levels of their cantilevered invention are far higher than existing harvesters.
Finding reserves on the electrical grid
May 12, 2011 6:15 am | News | CommentsIn stormy conditions, grid capacities are often insufficient to handle the electricity generated by wind turbines. To address this problem in Germany, engineers are experimenting with cylindrical sensor nodes that are clamped around transmission lines. These networked sensors can measure the current flow, temperature, wind, and other factors and relay them quickly through grid to help manage the power.
Engineers build first-ever organic-inorganic dimer to produce power
May 10, 2011 6:48 am | News | CommentsAccording to its inventors at Brookhaven National Lab, the nanoscale pairings of particles they have self-assembled out of quantum dots and fullerene nanoparticles are the first demonstration of a hybrid inorganic/organic material that can convert light to electric current. Called dimers, the paired particles could serve as power-generating units for molecular electronics.
NRL scientists achieve high temperature milestone in silicon spintronics
May 5, 2011 6:36 am | News | CommentsOperating temperatures for semiconductor devices range up to 125 degrees Celsius. By validating that the full spintronics process can be completed at temperature up to 225 degrees Celsius, Naval Research Lab scientists have confirmed for the first time that spin information can be transported in silicon over distances compatible with existing fabrication techniques. The breakthrough is essential to validate spin as an alternative to charge for a device technology.
New lithium-ion battery “top candidate” for electric cars
May 4, 2011 11:19 am | News | CommentsA team of scientists in Italy and South Korea have built a new type of lithium-ion based spinel cathode material that, when used in a battery with a tin-carbon anode, have been shown to supply high rate charge and discharge cycles and energy density on the order of 170 Wh/kg -1 . This performance indicates a suitable use in electric vehicles
Conducting ferroelectrics: The key to new electronic memory?
April 26, 2011 4:29 am | News | CommentsNovel properties of ferroelectric materials discovered at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are moving scientists one step closer to realizing a new paradigm of electronic memory storage. A new study revealed that contrary to previous assumptions, domain walls in ferroelectric materials act as dynamic conductors instead of static ones.
Ionic liquid batteries are under development at Naval Research Lab
April 19, 2011 6:08 am | News | CommentsScientists anticipate a move away from centuries of caustic, hazardous aqueous-based battery cells, and the future could include the latest invention from scientists at NRL. Their new battery operates on hydrogen sulphate, an ionic liquid that acts as an electrolyte and can mimic alkaline batteries with discharge voltages up to 1.8 V.
Researchers create super-small transistor
April 19, 2011 5:28 am | News | CommentsA Univ. of Pittsburgh-led team has created a single-electron transistor that provides a building block for new, more powerful computer memories, advanced electronic materials, and the basic components of quantum computers.
Ultra-fast magnetic reversal observed
April 14, 2011 7:33 am | News | CommentsIn magnetic memory, data is encoded by reversing the magnetization of tiny points. The speed of this helps us quickly store and retrieve data. For the first time, researchers in Germany explored the limits of reversal, and to their surprise found that some atoms reversed faster than others, causing strong magnetism. If harnessed, this phenomenon could speed read/write times in magnetic data storage devices by a factor of 1,000.
Tandem catalysis breakthrough could lead to artificial photosynthesis
April 13, 2011 7:49 am | by Lynn Yarris | News | CommentsNanocrystal and nano-catalyst design have become increasingly important as conventional metal catalysts have shown themselves to have too many limitations for next generation energy storage and conversion devices. Berkeley Lab’s latest crystal design multiply catalytic reaction sites significantly.
Researchers find replacement for rare material indium tin oxide
April 11, 2011 8:54 am | News | CommentsIndium tin oxide (ITO) is an important material used in displays and solar cells, but indium supplies are expected to be virtually exhausted within as little as ten years. A replacement film developed by researchers in The Netherlands is based on electrically conducting carbon nanotubes and plastic nanoparticles, and is made of readily available materials.
Materials science companies join to launch new conductive polymers
April 8, 2011 8:53 am | News | CommentsAldrich Materials Science, a technology offshoot of Sigma-Aldrich, this week announced the start of a collaboration with Agfa Materials to expand their offering of Orgacon conductive polymers for use in high technology applications. The material is geared toward use in applications requiring high conductivity, such as tandem junction solar cells.
First calculations to feature 14 quantum bits
April 1, 2011 8:11 am | News | CommentsThe previous record, established in 2005 by the research team of Rainer Blatt, is controlled entanglement of eight particles. Now, the same Austrian team have confined 14 calcium atoms in an ion trap and manipulated them with laser light to form a quantum register of 14 qubits. The major finding is that the atomic decay rate is not linear, but proportional to the square of the number of qubits.
3M receives DOE funds to dramatically lower PV system costs
March 24, 2011 6:57 am | News | CommentsAs part of the SunShot Initiative, the Dept. of Energy has provided financial assistance to solar film manufacturer 3M, which will use the money over a three-year span to develop its Ultra Barrier Solar Film. The flexible film is a promising substitute for glass in the production of thin-film solar cells.
Seeing below the surface
March 24, 2011 6:11 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsBecause they don’t dent like metals, damaged composites often appear to be in perfect condition even when internal structures have been compromised. Engineers at MIT have devised a new way to inspect these materials using carbon nanotubes and an applied electric current.
Discovery could lead to better memory chips
March 15, 2011 5:58 am | News | CommentsEngineering researchers at the Univ. of Michigan have found a way to improve the performance of ferroelectric materials, which have the potential to make memory devices with more storage capacity than magnetic hard drives and faster write speed and longer lifetimes than flash memory.
Super-efficient cells key to low-cost solar power
March 7, 2011 6:05 am | by Bill Scanlon | News | CommentsThe ability to deliver electricity at prices competitive with natural gas was a big reason why the Amonix 7700 Concentrated Photovoltaic Solar Power Generator earned an R&D 100 Award in 2010. The DOE’s National Renewable Energy Lab reports on the technology it developed with Amonix, and how it has been designed to eventually compete with coal as a cost-effective energy source.
A little rare earth hikes thermoelectric conversion efficiency 25%
February 16, 2011 7:39 am | News | CommentsHow important are rare earth elements? A research team based at Ames Lab recently achieved a 25% improvement in the ability of a certain type of thermoelectric, TAGS (tellurium, antimony, germanium and silver), to convert heat into electrical energy by adding a small amount of rare earth cerium or ytterbium.
Researchers isolate bound states in graphene superconductor junctions
February 15, 2011 3:21 am | News | CommentsIllinois researchers have documented the first observations of some unusual physics when two prominent electric materials are connected: superconductors and graphene.
Getting a charge out of solar 'paint'
February 14, 2011 6:04 am | by Miles O'Brien and Marsha Walton | News | CommentsBrian Korgel, a nanomaterials chemist at the University of Texas at Austin, and his team are designing solar cells that are light, flexible, efficient, and affordable. Their solution is a nanocrystal paint that can be dispersed in a solvent, allowing users to coat surfaces like windows in a photovoltaic film. The crystals themselves are based on CIGS technology.
New barrier layer boosts efficiency of CIGS solar cells
February 7, 2011 5:07 am | News | CommentsScientists at INM-Leibniz Institute for New Materials in Saarbrücken, Germany, has developed a barrier layer that separates the metal carrier from the absorber film and increases the efficiency of metal-based CIGS solar cells. The glass-like material prevents corrosion and oxidation of the carrier, increasing efficiency by up to 13%.
Molybdenite: a material to revolutionize electronics?
February 1, 2011 9:48 am | News | CommentsResearchers in France recently published a study showing that molybdenum has distinct advantages over traditional silicon or graphene for use in electronics applications. In addition to being an effective semiconductor, this abundant mineral is easy to use in nanotechnology and could used to fashion very small transistors, LEDs, and solar cells.
