As global solar capacity increases, new materials and photovoltaic designs could deliver greater efficiency than conventional silicon cells, at a reasonable cost.MICHAEL EISENSTEIN, SCIENCE WRITERIn a time of growing concern about climate change and the high cost of humanity’s carbon footprint, there are glimmers of hope. A global boom in sustainable energy investment is underway. The Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) reports that in 2016, nearly a fifth of...Read full articleRelated content from Photonics MediaARTICLESClear, Conductive Coating Could Protect Solar Cells, Display ScreensMIT researchers have improved on their initial version of a transparent, conductive coating material for solar cells and touch screens, producing a tenfold gain in its electrical conductivity. ...Photonics.com 12/2/2019Quantum Dots Enhance Stability of Perovskites for Solar PowerA team from the University of Toronto is researching materials that could enhance the solar-harvesting potential of silicon by absorbing wavelengths of light that silicon does not absorb. The...Photonics.com 5/27/20193D Printing Creates Patient-Specific ImplantsEvery patient is unique. Hence, nothing is more natural than providing each patient with a unique implant. Thanks to laser-based additive manufacturing, this is already possible. ...BioPhotonics May/Jun 2018 IssueWhispering Gallery for Light Boosts Solar Cell Absorption and PhotocurrentResearchers have developed a nanoscale coating for solar cells that enables the cells to absorb about 20 percent more sunlight than uncoated devices. The coating, developed by trapping light using an...Photonics Spectra July 2018 IssuePRODUCTSImage Analysis SoftwareThe Stream 2.4 image analysis software from Olympus enables users of any experience level to conduct complex image analysis tasks, from image acquisition to reporting, under any imaging condition. ...Photonics.com 7/15/2019Picosecond LaserThe Spectra-Physics IceFyre 355-50 industrial UV picosecond hybrid fiber laser from MKS Instruments Inc. delivers >50-W ultrashort pulses and repetition rates up to 10 MHz. The model is...Photonics Spectra October 2019 IssueFirefly DL CameraThe Firefly® DL machine vision camera from FLIR Systems Inc. is a deep learning, inference-enabled system ideal for integration into mobile, desktop, and handheld systems. With its small...Vision Spectra Winter 2019 IssuePHOTONICS HANDBOOK ARTICLESTunable Light Sources: A Popular Choice for Measurement Applications: Common goals of spectroscopy applications such as studying the chemical or biological properties of a material often dictate the requirements of the measurement system’s lamp, power supply, and monochromator.Many common spectroscopic measurements require the coordinated operation of a detection instrument and light source, as well as data acquisition and processing. Integration of individual components...Photonics HandbookMeasuring Small-Beam MFD: Overcoming the Challenges: Small beams are used in many critical applications yet often they are not directly profiled. While obtaining good beam profiling data on beams under 10 µm has its challenges, they can be overcome with proven techniques.Profiling beams under 10 µm in size is one of the more challenging beam profiling applications. There are numerous reasons for this, including the very small size. Focal plane arrays commonly...Photonics HandbookIndustrial Lasers: An Introduction to Process Qualification: The step from successfully demonstrating a new laser process on a limited number of samples under laboratory conditions, to scaling that process up for high-volume industrial use is a big one. In particular, it’s necessary to determine how variations in process parameters affect end results, so that acceptable process input and operating ranges can be determined.Materials processing with lasers is actually a broad term for a diverse range of applications. The major categories of these uses, and the lasers that service them, are summarized Table 1. At one...Photonics HandbookSuperresolution Microscopy: An Imaging Revolution: Despite tremendous accomplishments in recent years, superresolution microscopy is a relatively young field, and confusion exists in this domain of many abbreviations. However, this makes for captivating times as superresolution microscopy opens the door to wider imaging applications.Superresolution optical microscopy has been one of the most momentous developments in the life sciences over the last decade — and its evolution is ongoing. Progress has been so rapid and...Photonics HandbookWEBINARSConcentrator Photovoltaics: Not Just Solar CellsAn efficiency of 46 percent has recently been achieved with four-junction solar cells under a concentration on the cell of 508 times the normal solar power flux on the Earth’s surface. Such...Photonics.com 3/18/2015Current Status of Solar Photovoltaic Technology Platforms, Manufacturing Issues and ResearchQuestions, Answers & Comments from the Webinar Current Status of Solar Photovoltaic Technology Platforms, Manufacturing Issues and Research Thursday, Sept. 27, 1 p.m. EDT ...Photonics.com 9/27/2012Optics and Lighting Solutions for Machine VisionMachine vision technology is key to efficiently manufacturing a wide range of products today, from semiconductors to appliances to beverage containers. A crucial first step in any good machine vision...Photonics.com 3/20/2018Enabling Technology for Highly Aspheric or Free-Form Optics ManufacturingFree Webinar Additional Questions & Answers from the Webinar (below) Dr. Dae Wook Kim Assistant Research Professor College of Optical Sciences University of Arizona ...Photonics.com 4/25/2013PHOTONICS DICTIONARY TERMSdispersive powerA measure of the dispersive properties of a glass. The relative dispersion is defined as: where C, D, and F refer to the material's index of refraction at the three chief Fraunhofer lines in the...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009fill factorIn solar energy technology, the percent of usable land covered by collectors. The horizontal collector is the only design that exhibits 100 percent fill factor.EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009Fraunhofer hologramA far-field pattern holographically reproduced image that is categorically considered with three-dimensional lensless photographs.EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009Mollier diagramGraphic evaluation of the operation of a steam thermodynamic cycle of a solar energy system on which enthalpy is plotted against entropy.EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009MEDIASpray-On Solar Power & Laser-Induced Graphene - LIGHT MATTERS 12.17.2014On this week’s show, we’ll explore how lasers can transform cheap plastic film into a versatile kind of graphene. We’ll also introduce you to the finalists for this year’s Prism Award in biomedical...Photonics.com 12/17/2014Tumor Detection & Deep Solar - LIGHT MATTERS 11.13.2013-Deep Solar -Tumor Detection -Fiber Optic Switch This week on Light Matters: an array pushes solar deep into buildings, a special camera detects tumors, and a fiber optic switch is controlled by a...Photonics.com 11/13/2013Colored Solar Cells & Battle of the Brains - LIGHT MATTERS 07.10.2013-Battle of the Brains -Colored Solar Cells -Photoacoustic Blood Test This week on Light Matters: optics students win IBM’s Battle of the Brains; adding color makes solar cells more stylish; and a...Photonics.com 7/10/2013Do the Twist! - LIGHT MATTERS 12.09.2015To get the most out of solar panels, scientists are stretching and twisting them, dipping them in acid and even adding invisibility cloaks. Check out the latest ideas for harvesting the sun's energy...Photonics.com 12/9/2015PHOTONICS BUYERS' GUIDE CATEGORIESSolar Photovoltaic SystemsPhotodiodesA photodiode is a two-electrode, radiation-sensitive junction formed in a semiconductor material in which the reverse current varies with illumination. Photodiodes are used for the detection of...Solar CoatingsSputtering EquipmentCOMPANIESVIGO System SAVIGO System S.A. - a joint stock company is the leading manufacturer of standard and customized High Operating Temperature HgCdTe detectors. The mission of VIGO System is to provide fast and...Photonics Buyers' Guide