full spectrum solar cell

The serendipitous discovery means that a single system of alloys incorporating indium, gallium, and nitrogen can convert virtually the full spectrum of sunlight -- from the near infrared to the far ultraviolet -- to electrical current."It's as if nature designed this material on purpose to match the solar spectrum," says MSD's Wladek Walukiewicz, who led the collaborators in making the discovery.

A newly established low band gap for indium nitride means that the indium gallium nitride system of alloys (In_1-xGa_xN) covers the full solar spectrum.