flexible solar cell

Thin-film technologies have long promised to make a major impact on the solar industry but have largely been constrained to niche applications and research labs if they were not shredded by the market. After several false starts, current trade dynamics and promising research programs may help solar thin films find their place in the sun.

Korean scientists have unveiled a colorless device made of silicon microwire composites. The enhanced light absorption of the cell, the researchers claim, is due to the re-absorption of light by the microwires, which also benefit from an enhanced electric field.