MIT research team creates "paper-thin solar cells"

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

The composite, known as "Dyneema," permits an "ultralight and also mechanically durable solar framework" simply 50 micrometers thick that can be put on virtually any type of material for many applications.

The idea is based upon a natural thin-film solar cell provided six years back by MIT's Organic and also Nanostructured Electronics Laboratory (ONE Lab), which has since been additionally established. The group led by Mayuran Saravanapavanantham and Jeremiah Mwaura is certain that they will certainly have the ability to establish industrially valuable production processes based upon screen-printing techniques. Per kilo of weight, the solar framework offers 370 watts of power. Nonetheless, 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 requirement is for that reason around five times higher than for standard solar modules.