Printed solar cells

An exciting recent development in solar technologies is that of printed solar cells.... that can be printed on a standard ink jet printer! Although the efficiency of these printed cells is only about five per cent, the very low cost of production make them highly cost-effective. The researchers at Oregon state university, who developed this printing technology, hope to increase the efficiency of the cells to 12 per cent soon. The cells are "CIGS" solar cells, so called because they contain copper, indium, gallium and selenium. The ulta thin film solar cells can even be built into roofing materials to convert the sunlight into heat and electricity for house lighting/heating and water heating.
    Solar cell technologies are expanding by leaps and bound. Spectrolab, a subsidiary of the Boeing Company, announced that it had started production of the most efficient solar cell in the world with a conversion efficiency of 39.2 per cent about seven months ago. These cells have more than double the energy conversion efficiency than the normal commercially available solar cells. About 60 % of the world’s satellites are powered by solar cells manufactured by spectrolab, and the international space station is also powered by them.
    The US military might owe its technological leadership to the high quality reserach that is founds in universities and government research establishments. The related company has an annual budget of $34 billion and some 68,000 employees. It is through such gigantic efforts in sophisiticated research and manufacturing that USA continues to ramain a major world power.