System converts solar heat into usable light, increasing device's overall efficiency.
While all research in traditional photovoltaics faces the same underlying theoretical limitations, MIT PhD student David Bierman says, "with solar thermal photovoltaics you have the possibility to exceed that." In fact, theory predicts that in principle this method could more than double the theoretical limit of efficiency, potentially making it possible to deliver twice as much power from a given area of panels. Photo courtesy of the researchers.