Researchers in Singapore have managed to develop a highly efficient and yet cheaper silicon solar cell.
With this development, they hope the cost of solar energy can be halved.
Developed jointly by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics (IME), the new thin-film silicon solar cells are designed to be made from cheaper, low-grade silicon.
But the NTU said it has been able to generate electric current close to that produced by traditional solar cells made from costly, high-quality silicon.
This has been possible by creating a unique texture using nanostructures - which is thousands of times smaller than human hair - on the surface of the solar cell.
The invention comes at a time when the adoption of solar energy around the world is hindered by the high cost of traditional solar panels, partially due to it being made from high-grade crystalline bulk silicon.
