Today, solar cells are not a very efficient way to produce electricity, even if the source of energy is free. They can be manufactured from thick crystalline silicon wafers (300 microns thick) or thinner non-crystalline ones (about 2 microns thick). But 'thin' cells built are less efficient than 'thick' ones, even if they're cheaper to produce. But now, researchers at Iowa State University have found a way to boost the performance of these solar cells by 40 to 50 percent. And as they can be produced with the same manufacturing processes than previous ones, they'll remain cheap.

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