Compact photovoltaic converters have been developed at the Ioffe Institute for Physics and Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. They generate electricity using lasers, the university's press service reported.
The device is based on gallium arsenide (a compound of gallium with arsenic).
Conventional photoconverters generate electricity when a beam falls perpendicular to their surface. Our design is structurally different, in that light propagates parallel to the p-n junction, the region that allows photogenerated particles to be separated to produce current. This approach eliminates the need to create a special front grid for the photoconverter, which makes production much simpler.
The domestically produced photoconverter is cheaper and more efficient than foreign silicon analogues.
We have also managed to achieve a higher radiation density. The thickness of the photo-receiving layer of 50 microns is small enough, but the density of incident radiation reaches ten kilowatts per square centimeter.
The development will simplify the power supply of spacecraft and other devices. In the future, scientists plan to refine the converter to provide more efficient energy transfer to the consumer.
Earlier www1.ru reported that St. Petersburg scientists have learned to charge robots underwater.
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