Scientists at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) have resolved a fundamental weakness in a promising solar technology known as Perovskite Solar Cells, or PSCs. Their innovations appear to improve both the devices’ stability and scalability in one fell swoop and could be key to moving PSCs to market. Third-generation solar cells efficiently […]
Perovskite Solar Cells Leap Toward Commercialization
Solar energy has long been considered the most sustainable option for replacing our dependence on fossil fuels, but technologies for converting solar energy into electricity must be both efficient and inexpensive. Scientists from the Energy Materials and Surface Sciences Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) believe they’ve found a […]
Study Demonstrates New Mechanism for Developing Electronic Devices
The prevalence of electronic devices has transformed life in the 21st century. At the heart of these devices is the movement of electrons across materials. Scientists today continue to discover new ways to manipulate and move electrons in a quest for making faster and better functioning devices. Scientists from the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit led by […]
Sensor Detects Nanoparticles With Field Of Bouncing Light
Technology created by researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) is literally shedding light on some of the smallest particles to detect their presence – and it’s made from tiny glass bubbles. The technology has its roots in a peculiar physical phenomenon known as the “whispering gallery,” described by physicist […]
Photo of the Day: Nanomushroom Sensors: One Material, Many Applications
Professor Shen and colleagues at the Micro/Bio/Nanofluidics Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology have created biosensing material that can be used to monitor processes in living cells. One of these is made from a nanoplasmonic material that is able to accommodate a large number of cells on a single substrate and to monitor […]
A Sustainable Future Powered By Sea
Professor Tsumoru Shintake at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) yearns for a clean future, one that is affordable and powered by sustainable energy. Originally from the high-energy accelerator field, in 2012 he decided to seek new energy resources — wind and solar were being explored in depth, but he moved […]
Supercharging Silicon Batteries
As the world shifts towards renewable energy, moving on from fossil fuels, but at the same time relying on ever more energy-gobbling devices, there is a fast-growing need for larger high-performance batteries. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) power most of our portable electronics, but they are flammable and can even explode, as it happened to a recent […]
Shaping the Future
While nanoparticles sound like a recent discovery, these tiny structures have been used for centuries. The famous Lycurgus cup, made by 4th century Roman artisans, features dichroic glass, with gold and silver nanoparticles sprinkled throughout, producing a green appearance when light is shining on it from the front, and a red appearance when illuminated from […]
Stability Challenge in Perovskite Solar Cell Tchnology
While solar cell technology is currently being used by many industrial and government entities, it remains prohibitively expensive to many individuals who would like to utilize it.. There is a need for cheaper, more efficient solar cells than the traditional silicon solar cells so that more people may have access to this technology. One of […]
Taming Oceans for 24/7 Power
Fossil fuels propelled the Industrial Revolution and subsequent technological advances. However, our future cannot be based on them, if only because they are a finite resource; and we are very close to exhausting them. Solar and wind power is often seen as the main locomotive of the energy revolution. However, it is becoming increasingly clear […]