Photovoltaics are more efficient when they operate at lower temperatures, which can be achieved in solar farms that space out arrays and use the wind to their advantage. A bright, sunny, cloudless day might seem like the optimal setting for solar cells. But too much sun, and too much heat, can actually reduce the efficiency of photovoltaics. As operating temperature rises by 1 degree Celsius, traditional silicon-based solar cells will lose about 0.5% efficiency. In a typical photovoltaic plant, where…
There is a new quality in laser material processing: With a liquid crystal modulator, the beam profile of a laser can be freely programmed with high temporal resolution, but also split into identical copies. When this quality is combined with inline process monitoring and intelligent control, zero-defect manufacturing could become reality. In the EU project METAMORPHA, the partners will develop a system with all the fine details. The module will be tested in three applications with major industrial partners. The…
Proton implantation prior to device fabrication could unlock the true potential of silicon carbide as a reliable semiconductor material. Silicon carbide (SiC) is a semiconductor material that outperforms pure silicon-based semiconductors in several applications. Used mostly in power inverters, motor drives, and battery chargers, SiC devices offer benefits such as a high power density and reduced power losses at high frequencies even at high voltages. Although these properties and its relatively low cost make SiC a promising contender in various…
Inexpensive catalyst uses energy from light to turn ammonia into hydrogen fuel. Rice University researchers have engineered a key light-activated nanomaterial for the hydrogen economy. Using only inexpensive raw materials, a team from Rice’s Laboratory for Nanophotonics, Syzygy Plasmonics Inc. and Princeton University’s Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment created a scalable catalyst that needs only the power of light to convert ammonia into clean-burning hydrogen fuel. The research is published online today in the journal Science. The research follows government and industry investment to create infrastructure and markets…
The Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES has successfully completed a boulder detection campaign off the coast of the island of Rügen in the German Baltic Sea on behalf of 50Hertz. In order to allow efficient planning of the grid operator’s new offshore platform seismic measuring techniques have been employed to detect boulders below the sea-floor in. This innovative process allows identification of large rocks up to 100 m below the seafloor. That enables planning of windfarms and platforms…
– from contact lenses to latex gloves. Researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated a new technique for directly printing electronic circuits onto curved and corrugated surfaces. The work paves the way for a variety of new soft electronic technologies, and researchers have used the technique to create prototype “smart” contact lenses, pressure-sensitive latex gloves, and transparent electrodes. “There are many existing techniques for creating printed electronics using various materials, but limitations exist,” says Yong Zhu, corresponding author of…
A new model now describes the boiling process with much greater precision. When a liquid boils in a vessel, tiny vapor bubbles form at the bottom and rise, transferring heat in the process. How these small bubbles grow and eventually detach was previously not known in any great detail. A German-Chinese research team under the leadership of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf (HZDR) has now managed to fundamentally expand this understanding. The findings could be applied to future cooling systems for…
As nations work to eliminate carbon emissions, batteries will play a huge role. Electric vehicles powered by batteries seem likely to dominate the future of commercial and consumer transportation. Likewise, large stationary batteries will augment renewables like wind and solar by storing energy when production exceeds demand on the electrical grid, then sending that energy back to the grid when needed. But even today’s most advanced lithium-ion batteries don’t yet have the combination of economics, durability and energy density necessary…
– YESvGaN project develops competitive GaN process technologies. Can we contribute to the worldwide energy challenge by maximizing the efficiency in power conversion at a low cost? The answer is: YESvGaN! So, the goal of the YESvGaN consortium is to create a new class of vertical power transistors based on Gallium Nitride (GaN), so-called vertical GaN membrane transistors. These novel power devices combine the efficiency of wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductors with the lower cost of the established silicon semiconductor technology. Within…
Within the project secureAR (funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research), a cross-industry and open cloud-based service platform with open industry interfaces is being developed. Within secureAR, the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP is researching a novel hardware platform that is used in an innovative AR assistance system for the location- and situation-specific provision and visualization of data in different industrial scenarios. This hardware platform will be presented at electronica 2022, from…
… that harvest static electricity. Triboelectric energy is the scientific term for static electricity, or the energy that is created when two surfaces rub against each other. Electrons are exchanged between the two surfaces, charging one of the surfaces after they are separated. For example, if a balloon is rubbed against hair, it will cling to a wall. Or if clothes in the dryer rub together, you may see sparks as you pull them apart. Triboelectric generators are mechanical energy…
Findings hold potential to greatly enhance energy density of lithium batteries. A team of researchers has discovered a new mechanism to stabilize the lithium metal electrode and electrolyte in lithium metal batteries. This new mechanism, which does not depend on the traditional kinetic approach, has potential to greatly enhance the energy density — the amount of energy stored relative to the weight or volume — of batteries. The team published their findings in the journal Nature Energy. Lithium metal batteries…
… opens door to widespread use of portable spectrometers. Scientists including an Oregon State University materials researcher have developed a better tool to measure light, contributing to a field known as optical spectrometry in a way that could improve everything from smartphone cameras to environmental monitoring. The study, published today in Science, was led by Finland’s Aalto University and resulted in a powerful, ultra-tiny spectrometer that fits on a microchip and is operated using artificial intelligence. The research involved a…
NEFTON consortium working on test bench. A science and industry consortium is working on a testing station to achieve significantly higher charging rates than have been possible in the past. This is intended to increase the electrification of heavy-load transports in the future. More robust charging points and accordingly configured vehicle components are to drastically reduce charging times for heavy-duty trucks, making electric drives more attractive to freight carriers. The project’s objective is to reduce battery charging time to only…
Smart fabrication, smart logistics, or smart farming: Distributed networks of sensors are working hard for us every single day. In the past, every application needed a custom solution to run the sensors and process the data. Researchers at Fraunhofer IZM have now developed a platform that can be easily mixed and matched for each purpose – saving lots of effort and resources along the way. Wireless sensors are present in almost all electronic devices. They are all around us: From…
Researchers working in the field of navigation and supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation have developed methods that allow several low-cost inertial sensors working in combination to replace a single expensive sensor. Inertial sensors such as accelerometers and gyroscopes are used nearly everywhere, from smartwatches to submarines, drones, spacecraft, vacuum cleaners and even game controllers. The purpose of these sensors is to indicate the position, speed or direction of an object. Their drawback is their lack of precision, at…
Feedback
