ECE associate professor Heayoung Yoon and her research team have developed a scalable translucent PV technology, recently published by Advanced Energy & Sustainability Research, about “an application of a nanosecond laser in producing translucent Si solar cells.”
With their glasslike appearance, the translucent solar cells open innumerable doors for the usage and placement of solar energy. Yoon anticipates using these solar cells for “sustainable next-generation architecture and residential space,” with more varied applications than current rooftop solar panels. Furthermore, such translucency of the cells offers functionality that is well-suited for greenhouse and agricultural applications.
Doctoral student researcher Ashif Chowdhury looks forward with anticipation to the application of the solar cells, which could be implemented in “high rise buildings, houses, commercial installations, or agricultural installations such as greenhouses.” With such an expansion in the location of solar cells, their research broadens the horizons and accessibility of solar energy.
Yoon’s research has been partially funded by a collaborative 1U4U Seed Grant, focused on the topic “Sustainable Urban Green Spaces Integrated with Translucent Solar Technology.” As Yoon and her multi-disciplinary 1U4U team combine their skills, they hope to promote sustainability in a long-lasting and highly impactful way.
Yoon credits the success of her research to her dedicated student researchers and the generous support of Utah Nanofab staff, including Brian Baker and Joseph Jacob. One such student researcher, Chowdhury, reflects on his experiences with Yoon’s research lab, looking to the value of research and exploration.
“The initial goal of this experiment was something different,” Chowdhury recalls. “We didn’t exactly succeed in that. But, while engineering the experimental parameters to make it successful, we came across a totally different idea.” It was in pursuing this novel idea that Chowdhury, Yoon, and the research lab began the work that would become the translucent solar cells.
As the Yoon Research Group develops translucent solar cells by engineering micro/nanostructures of solar materials, they continue their work to harness energy across a broad spectrum, ranging from infrared thermal radiation to high-energy gamma rays.
Written by Marlee Jeppsen.