Conventional solar cell efficiency could be increased from the current limit of 30 percent to more than 60 percent, suggests new research on semiconductor nanocrystals, or quantum dots.

Researchers want to develop solar cells with an efficiency of over 65 percent by means of nanotechnology. In Southern Europe and North Africa these new solar cells can generate a substantial portion of the European demand for electricity.

Researchers report developing a "nanocoax" technology that can support a highly efficient thin film solar cells. The nanocoax structures prove to be thick enough to absorb a sufficient amount of light, yet thin enough to extract current with increased efficiency.

Researchers have presented an improved processing technique for germanium-based thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells resulting in significant reduction of cell cost, an essential step to develop a market for thermophotovoltaic applications. The newly developed TPV cells are fabricated on germanium substrates with an optimized surface, specifically designed and manufactured for this application.

A team of chemists has perfected a simple way to make tiny copper nanowires in quantity. The cheap conductors are small enough to be transparent, making them ideal for thin-film solar cells, flat-screen TVs and computers, and flexible displays.

Solar power might be nature's most plentiful and benign source of energy, but shiny dark solar cells can lure water insects away from critical breeding areas, scientists warn. Applying white grids or other methods to break up the polarized reflection of light, however, makes mayflies and other aquatic insects far less likely to deposit eggs on the panels thinking that they are water, the group discovered.

Thanks to a new semiconductor manufacturing method, the future of solar energy just got brighter. Researchers have developed a more efficient, lower-cost method of manufacturing compound semiconductors such as gallium arsenide for many electronic device applications, including solar cells. The group deposits multiple layers of the material on a single wafer, creating a layered stack of gallium arsenide thin films, then transfers one layer at a time to another substrate -- glass, plastic or silicon.

Canadian and provincial governments could spend $2.4 billion to build a large scale solar photovoltaic manufacturing plant and then give it away for free and still earn a profit in the long run, according to a financial analysis.