By employing a trick normally used to cool high-performance computer chips, IBM researchers have found a way to make concentrated photovoltaic cells that are more efficient in converting the sun's energy into electricity.

The researchers have shown that it is possible to increase the concentration of light on photovoltaic cells by about ten times without causing them to melt. This, they say, makes it possible to boost the amount of usable electrical energy produced by up to five times.

IBM is not known for its work in solar energy, but that has changed recently, with the rising cost of fuel and the growing interest in renewable alternative energies, says Supratik Guha, lead scientist of photovoltaic research at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center, in Yorktown Heights, NJ. "About a year and a half ago, we decided to start looking at photovoltaics," he says.  Read More...