R&D teams of Dresden-based Heliatek GmbH have reached a record conversion efficiency of 13.2% for an OPV multi-junction cell, setting a new world record for the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity using organic photovoltaic cells. The measurement was independently confirmed by Fraunhofer CSP (centre for silicon photovoltaics) in Halle, Germany.
A polymer film coating with the ability to turn contact lenses into computer screens is set to transform the wearable visual aids into the next generation of consumer electronics.
Healthcare practitioners may one day be able to physically screen for breast cancer using pressure-sensitive rubber gloves to detect tumours, owing to a transparent, bendable and sensitive pressure sensor newly developed by Japanese and American teams under the leadership of the University of Tokyo. Conventional pressure sensors are flexible enough to fit to soft surfaces such as human skin, but they cannot measure pressure changes accurately once they are twisted or wrinkled, making them unsuitable for use on complex and moving surfaces.
