Photon enhanced thermionic emission

Engineers at Stanford have industrial a process which can connect the light and heat of the sun concurrently, which could lead to solar cells that are two times as capable as those currently existing. Called photon enhanced thermionic emission -- or PETE for short -- the process differs from conventional cells which lose effectiveness as temperatures rise, and the materials required to make the cells are cheap and widely existing. The engineers got around the lower efficiencies by coating a piece of semi conducting material with a thin cover of the metal cesium, which enables the material to use both heat and light at the same time. While the materials as currently verified work best in very high temperatures, the researchers specify that in the near future, the materials could have wide enough application to make them competitive with traditional forms of energy.Hit the source for the full story.