Solar nanowire flexible absorption

Researchers creating electricity through photovoltaics want to convert as many of the sun’s wavelengths as possible to achieve maximum efficiency. Indium gallium nitride could be a valuable future material for photovoltaic systems. Sandia National Laboratories discovered that if an indium mixture is grown on a phalanx of nanowires rather than a flat surface, the indium shell layer will "relax" and produce less strain. This relaxation allowed the team to create a nanowire solar cell with indium percentages of approximately 33 percent, which is higher than any other reported attempt at creating III-nitride solar cells. This initial attempt also lowered the absorption base energy from 2.4eV to 2.1 eV, which is the lowest of any III-nitride solar cell to date. This made a wider range of wavelengths available for power conversion. The results represent a promising path for Ill-nitride solar research.