14 DAY TRIAL // Black silicon solar cells developed by a collaboration of researchers in the United States are capable of absorbing more than 99.7 percent of all sunlight that falls on them. This level of photon absorption is significantly higher than that of any other solar cell on the market today.
Other devices of this class absorb around 95 percent of all photons that strike them, experts from Natcore Tech and the US Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) explain, quoted by CleanTechnica.
One of the main advantages the black silicon solar cell has over comparable devices is that it works nearly as efficiently in cloudy weather as it does under direct sunlight. “This technology will play an important role in moving forward the availability of solar technologies,” NREL official William Farris says.
NREL and the DOE plan to make solar energy a viable alternative to other power sources by the end of the decade, and this involves a lot of work. The recent innovation is a good first step in that direction.