New solar cell

TORONTO—Researchers at the University of Toronto have found a solar cell that could lead to cheaper coatings and more efficient electricity production, Science Daily reports

The team used a stack of two light-absorbing layers, with one tuned to capture the sun’s visible rays and the other engineered to harvest the half of the sun’s power that lies in the infrared.

In five years from now, the team hopes solar cells using the graded recombination layer could be integrated into building materials, mobile devices and auto parts.

Check out a video of lead researcher Ted Sargent explaining the breakthrough technology.

Ted Sargent Describes His Team’s Tandem Solar Cell Breakthrough from U of T Engineering on Vimeo.