Aren’t these absolutely gorgeous to look at? If we hadn’t been told we couldn’t have ever associated these with solar energy industry. These pretty looking hexagonal solar cells have been made from crystalline silicon using micro-electric and micro mechanical manufacturing process. The utility of these remarkable cells is that these are able to produce the same amount of electricity using about a hundred times less material than the normal solar cells and thus are less expensive and more efficient. It’s minuscule structure makes it easy to be used on any uneven surface paving its way to be utilized in other fields as well.

Created by researchers of Sandia National Laboratories, this photovoltaic cells are currently producing energy with 14.9 percent efficiency, and with more advancement it absolutely looks to be a sought after technology in the coming years. Field Engineer Vipin Gupta mentions that these can be used “in rooftop applications that have intelligent controls, inverters and even storage built in at the chip level. Such an integrated module could greatly simplify the cumbersome design, bid, permit and grid integration process that our solar technical assistance teams see in the field all the time.”

[source : inhabitat.com]