Research is constantly being conducted to help develop smaller, more efficient commercial solar panels. However, this typically leads to a reduction in quality.
However, the electrical engineers over at Buffalo’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have developed a new nanoscale light detector which could overcome these obstacles.
It consists of nanocavities, which are made up of a series of interconnected molecules which reflect light, essentially sandwiched between an ultra-thin top layer of semi conductive germanium and a bottom reflecting layer of silver.
According to Qiaoqiang Gan, an associate professor at the university, the nanocavities allow photons to be “recycled” so light absorption is increased.