{"id":43484,"date":"2026-10-21T15:55:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T19:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/?p=43484"},"modified":"2026-10-21T15:55:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T19:55:40","slug":"miami-engineers-thin-solar-cell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/miami-engineers-thin-solar-cell\/43484\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami engineers built a paper-thin solar cell that reaches 22% efficiency, then reverses to emit near-infrared light"},"content":{"rendered":"

Engineers at Florida International University have designed an ultra-thin, dual-purpose solar panel that converts daylight into electricity with an efficiency of 22 percent, then changes polarity to emit near-infrared ligh<\/strong>t.<\/p>\n

Designed with the goal of reducing the load on battery packs worn by infantry soldiers, the flexible semiconductor film is envisioned for future integration directly into combat uniforms.<\/p>\n

Using one substrate for both power generation and nighttime infrared signaling<\/strong>, researchers hope the dual-purpose solar film will eventually reduce weight burdens while aiding night operations.<\/p>\n

Integrating dual-purpose solar films into combat uniforms as a future application<\/h2>\n

Infantrymen typically have to lug around 20 pounds of lithium batteries in order to fuel their night-vision goggles, radios, and GPS equipment.<\/p>\n

Scientists from Florida International University developed a super-thin layer of semiconductor material<\/strong> tested on small laboratory devices, achieving 22.02% efficiency on a 0.12 cm\u00b2 cell and 20.43% on a 1.1 cm\u00b2 device.<\/p>\n

Future conductive pathways in textiles could potentially harness electricity from such devices to power wearable tactical electronics.<\/p>\n

In the future, substituting bulky battery packs with lightweight solar cells could allow for power generation without significantly increasing equipment weight<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If successfully scaled to garment size, wearable solar cells aim to mitigate resupply delays and offer an independent energy source during prolonged tactical operations.<\/p>\n

Integrating energy-harvesting materials into military apparel could eventually turn uniform fabric into an energy producer<\/strong> without adding bulk.<\/p>\n

Reversal of electrical charge to produce invisible near-infrared light<\/h2>\n

Normal solar cells produce electricity in the form of DC energy when exposed to sunlight; however, normal solar materials are not able to give off light when they are biased.<\/p>\n

The active semiconductor material was modified such that a reversed current will immediately turn the solar cell into a light source<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Reverse current results in narrow-band near-infrared light emission with an 818-nm peak.<\/p>\n

This appears as a faint pink glow to the human eye<\/strong> in the dark and can be picked up by night-vision devices.<\/p>\n

Infrared lights came to life.<\/p>\n

Infrared light signals allow visibility of the terrain<\/strong> to soldiers using night-vision equipment.<\/p>\n

Switching electrical bias instantaneously converts the daytime solar cell into a near-infrared light source.<\/p>\n

22 percent power conversion efficiency in ultrathin films<\/h2>\n

Thinned-out solar modules are usually known for their reduced efficiencies in light absorption<\/strong> because of micro-thin absorbers that allow incoming photons to penetrate.<\/p>\n

Engineered thin semiconductor layers with increased absorption of the sunlight trapped within micro-thin boundaries helped raise the efficiency.<\/p>\n

Laboratory tests showed that under the full spectrum of sunlight illumination, the highest rate of power conversion reached 22 percent<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

High efficiency corresponds with regular photovoltaics despite being thinner than one sheet of paper.<\/p>\n

The most powerful solar power harvesting across small fabric areas helps provide enough watts to power up tactical equipment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

High-energy output confirms that flexible paper-thin solar modules<\/a> are suitable replacements for bulky solar generators.<\/p>\n

Resistance to mechanical stress and environmental conditions<\/h2>\n

Wearable military electronics withstand high mechanical stresses<\/strong>, constant folding, and extreme weather conditions in actual field deployment.<\/p>\n

The repetitive bending of fabric cracks the brittle silicon semiconductor cells, breaking their electrical connections and making them unable to generate electricity immediately.<\/p>\n

The flexible electronics feature an extremely tough polymer base<\/strong>, which can withstand repeated mechanical twisting without cracking.<\/p>\n

Encapsulation layers protect the device from water penetration and dust particles, preventing any damage to electrical contacts during heavy rains and mud contamination<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Such rugged construction suggests that ultra-thin solar films could withstand harsh conditions, though operational suitability for wilderness combat has yet to be tested<\/strong> in field deployments, according to Florida International University<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Scale-up of chemical manufacturing for commercial uniform production<\/h2>\n

Proof-of-concept in the laboratory confirms dual functionality<\/strong>, but scale-up of the synthesis process from small test patches to full military uniforms poses manufacturing challenges.<\/p>\n

Engineers depend on unique chemical deposition processes that need accurate temperature control throughout the large, flexible substrate rolls.<\/p>\n

Inconsistent chemical deposition in large fabric rolls is likely to result in efficiency losses<\/strong>, with dead spots along the uniform power lines.<\/p>\n

Efficiency in large-scale manufacturing<\/a> will decide how fast defense agencies introduce self-powered and light-emitting combat uniforms for soldiers.<\/p>\n

The full study can be found here: Kumar, N., Sahani, R., Lai, C. Y., & Radu, D. R. (2026). Bridging energy harvesting and high-performance electroluminescence in large-area single cation FAPbI3 perovskite devices through Rb\u207a\/K\u207a dual cation doping. Nano Energy<\/em>, 148, 111683.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Engineers at Florida International University have designed an ultra-thin, dual-purpose solar panel that converts daylight into electricity with an efficiency of 22 percent, then changes polarity to emit near-infrared light. Designed with the goal of reducing the load on battery packs worn by infantry soldiers, the flexible semiconductor film is envisioned for future integration directly … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":43488,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"solar","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Miami engineers built a paper-thin solar cell that achieves 22% efficiency, then reverses to emit near-infrared light in a separate energy process.","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43484"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43539,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43484\/revisions\/43539"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}