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laboratoryequipment:

Method Controls Band Gaps to Make Better Solar Cells

Solar cells, light emitting diodes, displays and other electronic devices could get a bump in performance because of a discovery at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory that establishes new boundaries for controlling band gaps.

While complex transition metal oxides have for years held great promise for a variety of information and energy applications, the challenge has been to devise a method to reduce band gaps of those insulators without compromising the material’s useful physical properties. The band gap is a major factor in determining electrical conductivity in a material and directly determines the upper wavelength limit of light absorption. Thus, achieving wide band gap tunability is highly desirable for developing opto-electronic devices and energy materials.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Method-Controls-Band-Gaps-in-Insulators-Without-Changing-Properties-022212.aspx

(via scinerds)