Solar cells go round the bend

摘要

With high oil prices sparking a surge of interest in alternative energy sources, solar cells have become the subject of intense research. Much of this effort focuses on finding new designs that open up fresh applications. John Rogers and colleagues now report just such a development (J. Yoon et al. Nature Mater. doi:10.1038mat2287; 2008) - tiny, uitrathin cells made of silicon that, when fixed in arrays on a flexible substrate, create large, bendy solar cells (pictured).