MIT research team establishes "paper-thin solar cells"

• A team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has created a process to bond ultra-thin solar cells to a durable fiber composite making use of a UV-resistant adhesive.

The composite, called "Dyneema," permits an "ultralight and mechanically durable solar framework" just 50 micrometers thick that can be related to virtually any product for numerous applications.

The idea is based on an organic thin-film solar cell provided 6 years back by MIT's Organic and Nanostructured Electronic Devices Lab (ONE Laboratory), which has considering that been further established. The group led by Mayuran Saravanapavanantham and Jeremiah Mwaura is positive that they will certainly have the ability to develop industrially helpful manufacturing processes based on screen-printing techniques. Per kilogram of weight, the solar structure uses 370 watts of power. However, at a weight of 105 grams per square meter, this corresponds to an area of 9.5 square meters or around 25 square meters per kilowatt of power; the power-related location need is therefore around 5 times greater than for conventional solar modules.