Ultra-thin Photo-Responsive Alloy

A New Breakthrough in Solar Panel Technology

Pioneers at SA Solar have announced a major advance in solar panel technology – an acheivement that has resulted from over ten grueling years of research.

The South African Solar team, headed by Professor Vivian Alberts of the University of Johannesburg, has developed an extremely thin metal alloy that is especially photo-responsive. This alloy can be used to construct solar panels only 5 microns thick!

This amazing new alloy stands in stark contrast to traditional silicon photovoltaic cells, which are typically nearly a hundred times as thick as the new photo-responsive alloy.

Specifics of these Ultra-thin Solar Panels

Early reports suggest that this new alloy was developed from copper-indium(gallium)-diselenide (CIGS). This super-thin photovoltaic alloy has a typical projected lifespan similar to traditional solar cells, and can be expected to last about seventeen to twenty years.

The solar panels require a moderate amount of energy to create, but reports suggest that the energy will be reocvered and surpassed within the first 24 months of operation.

CIGS Solar Panels in the Home?

Just how practical are these super-thin CIGS (copper-indium(gallium)-diselenide) solar panels for the home? According to Tree Hugger, a typical household would need about 30m/sq of these CIGS solar panels to satisfy all of their energy needs.

CIGS Batteries

It is said that complementary technology has been developed alongside these solar cells; converters and storage devices have been developed specifically for these ultra thin CIGS solar panels and will be used to convert and store the electricity generated by the solar panels.