University at Buffalo: how to deposit zinc oxide thin films for solar cells

Zinc oxide coatings serve a variety of purposes, from LCD displays to contact lenses. For the purposes of green technology, they also could have significant impact on solar cells and even batteries. One potential problem is that in the past, the coatings were deposited at such high temperatures that they damaged the substrate they were being applied to. The University at Buffalo in New York believes that they may have found a solution to that problem by rapidly cooling the metal nanoparticles before applying them through a very small aperture. This could positively impact the efficiency of solar cells, making them much more efficient, and perhaps also cheaper to manufacture. We always make sure to keep an eye on solar breakthroughs, being that the sun's not going anywhere anytime soon and offers free power to those who can capture it. Not destroying your solar cells while creating them sounds like a step in the right direction, wouldn't you agree?

[Source: The University at Buffalo]