ANU at the forefront of ground-breaking solar research

Scientists at The Australian National University (ANU) have made a fresh series of breakthroughs that could help further revolutionise solar technology - making it more efficient, and more accessible - following major discoveries last year. The team from ANU have been concentrating on the solar cell's skin layer, which is 1,000 times thinner than a human hair, and is used to conduct electricity and protect the solar cell. Previously, much of the research in this field has focused on improving the body of the cells. Lead researcher Dr Hieu Nguyen said when hydrogen atoms are injected into a solar cell's skin, rather than the cell body, the performance of the entire structure is boosted significantly. "Hydrogen is the lightest element in the periodic table but extremely powerful for healing 'wounds' in semiconductor materials," Dr Nguyen said. "Unfortunately, in nature, it often exists in a molecular form (two atoms joined together). We got around this by placing another material with plenty of atomic hydrogen on top of the skin, then pushing the individual hydrogen atoms into the skin by simply heating the sample at 400 ^o C." The ANU researchers initially discovered the skin layer can emit light with some very distinct qualities.