太陽系: 半透明のプラ製太陽電池-低コストで製造簡単：オランダのグローニンゲン大学

（左写真は記事からではなく、http://www.kennislink.nl/web/show?id=183141←ここから）
オランダのグローニンゲン大学のA・ハディプアー研究者は、半透明のプラスチック製太陽電池を開発した。現在、世界各国で高価なシリコン製太陽電池に替わる高性能の太陽電池研究が進められており、こうした研究開発の中での成果。プラスチック製太陽電池は、これまでのシリコン製より低コストで簡単に製造でき、実用化すると窓材などにも活用できるという。プラスチック製は十分な出力を得るのが難しいなどの課題があった。研究者は独自の分離技術を使用して2層ポリマーにより高い出力を可能にしたプラスチック製の開発に成功した。問い合わせは電子メール（a.hadipour@rug.nl)で。（日刊工業新聞2008年2月29日）
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（関連1）グローニンゲン大学のA・ハディプアー研究者
http://www.rug.nl/edrec/nieuws/Nieuwsberichten/ontwikkelingDoorzichtigeZonnecellen
Researcher from Groningen developes transparent solar cells
Date: November 27, 2007
The need for energy is growing. Therefore solar energy is a hor item the last few years. Solar panels made of silicons are however still quite expensive. In Groningen researchers are working on the developement of of a cheaper solar cell which can be made of plastic. Afshin Hadipour found a way to make semi-transparent solar cells made of plastic which can function as a window at the samen time. Moreover he developed a way to increase the effectiveness of the plastic solar cells. On the 7th of December he will promote at the university of Groningen. The current solar cells are mostly made of silicons and can only be produced at high temperatuers. This is extremely expensive and valuable. All over the world researchers are trying to find alternatives for the silicon solar cell. One of the alternatives is the plastic solar cell. According to Hadipour plastic solar cells have major advantages. The most important advantage is that they can be made in a relative cheap and simple way. Nonetheless, the plastic solar cells are not yet for sale, becaus the profit always was much less than the profit of silicon cells. Hadipour has been working on a method to make the plastic solar cells with a higher profit.
「Extremely thin」
The polymer molecules which are in the plastic solar cell, makes that the sunlight is converted into electricity. They form an extremely thin layer, as thick as one out of tenthousand parts of a millimetre. This layer of polymer can only convert a small part of the color spectrum, for instance blue light, into energy. That's why Hadipour has tried to make solar cells wich are made of two layers; a layer which can absorb blue light, and on top of it a layer which can absorb another color of the spectrum, for example red light. This makes the profit of the solar cell higher. The piling up of the plastice solar cells is an esay thing to say, because you have to find a way to keep the layers separately. Still Hadipour succeeded eventually, by using a special separation layer. He has been one of the first researchers in the world who succeeded in makeing such a 'polymer tandem solar cell'.
「Solar cell as a window」
Hadipour has also been working on a transparent solar cell. A normal solar cell contains a thin layer which reflects the light and increase the light absorption, but you can't look through it. Hadipour looked for a transparent material that still absorbes enough light. Eventually he found a fluorescing material which is capable of capturing the light, so you can use the solar cell as a window. Large offices with a lot of windows could generate a lot of energy thanks to this kind of solar cells.
「Rapid」
According to Hadipour, the possibilities of plastic solar cells are endlessly. ‘Plastic zsolar cells are light and flexibel. We can make them in all kinds of sizes and forms and in different colors. You can attach them to you coat for instance, so that you can recharge you mp3 player with solar energy. We could also combine solar cells with a LED (Light Emitting-Diode). Then you can generate energy during the day and shine during the night.' Hadipour estimates that the first plastic solar cells will appear on the market within two years. ‘The developement has now com into a rapid.’
「Curriculum vitae」
Afshin Hadipour (Iran, 1968) graduated as a scientist in 2003 at the university of Groningen. After that he began with his promotion research, under direction of prof.dr. Paul Blom and dr. Bert de Boer - at the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials in Groningen. After his promotion he continues his work for the plastic solar cell at the Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum (IMEC) in Belgium. The title of his thesis is: Solution-Processed Tandem Organic Solar Cells.
「Note for the press」
More information : Afshin Hadipour, tel. 050-363 4866/ 8750, e-mail: a.hadipour@rug.nl 　　Last modified: December 12, 2007 15:42
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（関連2）WAKE FOREST大のプラスチック製太陽電池

 http://www.wfu.edu/news/release/2007.04.18.n.php
Plastic solar cell efficiency breaks record at WFU nanotechnology center
April 18, 2007
The global search for a sustainable energy supply is making significant strides at Wake Forest University as researchers at the university’s Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials have announced that they have pushed the efficiency of plastic solar cells to more than 6 percent.　In a paper to be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Applied Physics Letters, Wake Forest researchers describe how they have achieved record efficiency for organic or flexible, plastic solar cells by creating “nano-filaments” within light absorbing plastic, similar to the veins in tree leaves. This allows for the use of thicker absorbing layers in the devices, which capture more of the sun’s light.　Efficient plastic solar cells are extremely desirable because they are inexpensive and light weight, especially in comparison to traditional silicon solar panels. Traditional solar panels are heavy and bulky and convert about 12 percent of the light that hits them to useful electrical power. Researchers have worked for years to create flexible, or “conformal,” organic solar cells that can be wrapped around surfaces, rolled up or even painted onto structures.　Three percent was the highest efficiency ever achieved for plastic solar cells until 2005 when David Carroll, director of the Wake Forest nanotechnology center, and his research group announced they had come close to reaching 5 percent efficiency. Now, a little more than a year later, Carroll said his group has surpassed the 6 percent mark.　"Within only two years we have more than doubled the 3 percent mark,” Carroll said. “I fully expect to see higher numbers within the next two years, which may make plastic devices the photovoltaic of choice.”　In order to be considered a viable technology for commercial use, solar cells must be able to convert about 8 percent of the energy in sunlight to electricity. Wake Forest researchers hope to reach 10 percent in the next year, said Carroll, who is also associate professor of physics at Wake Forest.　Because they are flexible and easy to work with, plastic solar cells could be used as a replacement for roof tiling or home siding products or incorporated into traditional building facades. These energy harvesting devices could also be placed on automobiles. Since plastic solar cells are much lighter than the silicon solar panels structures do not have to be reinforced to support additional weight.　A large part of Carroll’s research is funded by the United States Air Force, which is interested in the potential uses of more efficient, light-weight solar cells for satellites and spacecraft. Other members of Carroll’s research team include Jiwen Liu and Manoj Namboothiry, postdoctoral associates at Wake Forest’s nanotechnology center, and Kyungkon Kim, a postdoctoral researcher at the center, who has moved to the Materials Science & Technology Division at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology in Seoul.
「Press Contacts」
Jacob McConnico　(336) 758-5237　mcconnjn@wfu.edu
Kevin Cox　(336) 758-5237　coxkp@wfu.edu