ORGANIC SOLAR CELLS

Solar Power: Organic Solar Cells



Solar Power: Organic Solar Cells

Introduction

The solar energy is enormous. The magnitude of energy is so enormous that approximately $7 million has been recently promised by the department of energy of UK for the funding in order to support the new promising source of renewable energy. The harnessing of the energy emitted from the sun may sound simple but is a complex phenomenon. The energy requirements of our planets can be fulfilled if the energy of sun can be harnessed but numbers of complexities are involved in the process. Sometimes, the weather is overcast and at the night the solar energy is disappeared for many hours of the night time. The optimal time for the harnessing of the sun energy is during the day time when the people enjoy sunshine for long durations.

Discussion

The solar panels are designed and manufactured by the engineers have to go through various considerations in each of the phases. These design processes includes the devising of new ways for mining the energy of the sun but also to keep the production costs as low as possible. Different researches indicate that many innovative ways have been derived by the engineers for capturing of solar energy. One of which is the utilization of the mirror which helps in directing the sunlight to the solar cell even when the movement of sun is at different angles in which the probability of light hitting the panels is very low (Oyamada et. al, 2007, pp. 2-3).

Many other innovative approaches have been employed for replacement of the existing traditional energy sources (primarily fossil fuels) with the solar technology. The purpose of this paper is to explain the procedure and technology involved in tracking of solar energy by the solar cells. How the utilization of different building materials influences the efficiency of solar cells and the phenomenon of the channelling of light incorporated in solar concentrators. Finally, the claim that the solar energy is sufficient for fulfilling our energy consumption and best possible alternative to the traditional fuel sources will be evaluated. (Ito & Kato et al, 2008, pp. 17).

The most important milestone achieved in the ongoing research on the solar energy sources and solar cells is the creation of an artificial leaf. Plants take the energy from the sun and convert them into energy by the process of photosynthesis. This process takes the sunlight and combines it with carbon dioxide which forms the part of our atmosphere and releases oxygen into the atmosphere. If the duplication of the photosynthesis process of plants is made possible, renewable sources can be used to overpower fossil fuel energy sources.

The materials utilized in the manufacturing of photovoltaic or solar cells are primarily semiconductors such as Silicon and Germanium doped with impurities. The primary problem associated with the utilization of silicon and germanium wafers is the high manufacturing and production cost which makes the solar energy sources expensive as compared to another renewable energy ...