Image Credit: Nanotechweb
...which seems a bit counter-intuitive at first glance.
This applies the use of quantum dots. A quantum dot is small: on the order of the exciton Bohr Radius, about 0.53 Angstroms (10-10 meters = 0.0000000001 meters).
"For all its utility on roofs, car tops and stretches of flat desert, the structural limitations of silicon severely limit the harvest of solar energy. After all, the sun beats down on a universe of irregular shapes, and maximizing that energy means generating power from more areas than simple flat surfaces. With quantum dots, small bits of material that act as miniature solar panels, engineers can do just that, provided they figure out how to get the electricity off the dots.
"Recent research from the Colorado School of Mines helps solve that problem by tricking the electrons in quantum dots to spread solar energy around to other particles, instead of simply releasing it as heat. Unfortunately, figuring out the optimal size for those quantum dots needed to best perform this trickier may turn out to be the hard part."
American Institute of Physics: Quantum Dots Hold The Energy of the Future, for Better or Worse
Brittany Webb: Quantum Dots Presentation
Semiconductor Nanocrystals: Shape Matters
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