Keithley Instruments, Inc. is helping the electrical engineers of tomorrow characterize photovoltaic devices accurately and efficiently. Oregon State University’s Solar Vehicle Team (OSUSVT) has been putting the company’s donated Model 2440 5A SourceMeter instrument to work in analyzing and troubleshooting mono-crystalline silicon solar modules. These modules are powering the Phoenix, the solar race car in […]
Power Electronic Tips
California’s hydroelectricity production is vulnerable to climate change
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — California’s hydropower is vulnerable to climate change, a University of California, Riverside scientist has advised policymakers in “Our Changing Climate,” a report released July 31 by the California Natural Resources Agency and the California Energy Commission (CEC). “Climate change is expected to affect the quantity and timing of water flow in the […]
A KAIST research team has developed a high performance flexible solid state battery
The team of Professor Keon Jae Lee from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST has developed a high performance flexible all-solid-state battery, an essential energy source for flexible displays (see paper in Nano Letters: “Bendable Inorganic Thin-Film Battery for Fully Flexible Electronic Systems”). The technological advance of thin and light flexible display has […]
Battery charging controller, power manager features input max. power point control
Linear Technology Corporation introduces the LTC4000-1, a high voltage controller and power manager with input maximum power point control (MPPC) that converts virtually any externally compensated DC/DC power supply into a full-featured battery charger. The LTC4000-1 is capable of driving typical DC/DC converter topologies, including buck, boost, buck-boost, SEPIC, flyback and forward. The device offers […]
Transparent solar cells for windows that generate electricity
Scientists are reporting development of a new transparent solar cell, an advance toward giving windows in homes and other buildings the ability to generate electricity while still allowing people to see outside. Their report appears in the journal ACS Nano. Yang Yang, Rui Zhu, Paul S. Weiss and colleagues explain that there has been intense […]
Breaking the barriers for low-cost energy storage
A team of researchers has developed a cheap, rechargeable and eco-friendly battery that could be used to store energy at solar power plants for a rainy day. Led by Sri Narayan, professor of chemistry at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the team developed an air-breathing battery that uses the chemical energy […]
Full steam ahead for the Navy’s controversial “Great Green Fleet”
The Navy has embarked on an ambitious green energy program, which could cost upwards of $2 billion per year. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus must convince a skeptical Congress, Senate, and public that investing in pricey alternative fuels — in the midst of the worst recession in decades — will reap dividends. Two weeks ago, the U.S.S. […]
How to avoid traps in plastic electronics
Plastic electronics hold the promise of cheap, mass-produced devices. But plastic semiconductors have an important flaw: the electronic current is influenced by “charge traps” in the material. These traps, which have a negative impact on plastic light-emitting diodes and solar cells, are poorly understood. However, a new study by a team of researchers from the […]
Breakthrough by U of T-led research team leads to record efficiency for next-generation solar cells
Researchers from the University of Toronto (U of T) and King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) have made a breakthrough in the development of colloidal quantum dot (CQD) films, leading to the most efficient CQD solar cell ever. Their work is featured in a letter published in Nature Nanotechnology. The researchers, led by […]
For wireless power market success, look to the east
According to an upcoming report from IMS Research, Japan is forecast to become the leading market for wireless power technology this year, with enabled devices surpassing two million shipments by year’s end. The report points to mobile phone carrier support, in-box packaging, and deployment of wireless power infrastructure as the main reasons for the rapid […]