Chia Pet meets the solar cell

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have come up with a way of making solar photovoltaic cells more efficient by making them fuzzy with nanowires.

Boosting solar cell efficiency
The idea is [to] use nanowires to more efficiently conduct electrons from the collection surface of the solar cell to an electrode. Contemporary thin-film solar cells provide no direct conduit for electron travel.

If the process scales well, it has the potential to dramatically improve the efficiency of next-generation solar photovoltaic panels.

Hairy Solar Cells Could Mean Higher Efficiency