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SALT LAKE CITY — In the not-so-distant future, clothing may provide solar power for your mobile devices.
Scientists at Penn State University created a new form of solar cell that looks like a hair-thin wire. They eliminated the need for bulky chips in the silicon-based optical fiber by designing an electronic component within the fiber. The component was created by high pressure techniques that deposited semiconducting materials into holes in the fibers.
John Badding, a chemistry professor at Penn State University, said researchers could make the fibers longer than 10 millimeters in length, which would allow them to be woven into fabric. The possibly wearable fabric may be a practical and affordable solution to short-lived battery life of electronics. Additionally, they could be used for power generation, chemical sensing and biomedical devices.
"A solar cell is usually made from a glass or plastic substrate onto which hydrogenated amorphous silicon has been grown," Badding said. "Such a solar cell is created using an expensive piece of equipment called a PECVD reactor and the end result is something flat with little flexibility. But woven, fiber-based solar cells would be lightweight, flexible configurations that are portable, foldable, and even wearable."
The round fiber, unlike solar panels, are receptive to light at any angle, giving it the ability to function despite the sun's position, or the fiber being folded or worn.
Badding said the fiber's function as a wearable power source is attractive not just to the tech-dependent among us, but the US Military as well.
