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Moth eyes inspire photovoltaics

By Deon du Plessis, Journalist
Johannesburg, 12 Feb 2009

Moth eyes inspire photovoltaics

Photovoltaics, which convert sunlight into electricity, have long been touted as one of the most promising solutions to our energy needs, reports Physics World.

Unfortunately, today's devices reflect a lot of solar energy as heat, which means solar power is currently not as cheap as other forms of energy.

Now, however, researchers in the Netherlands have developed an anti-reflective coating based on the nanostructure of a moth's eyes, which could reduce the reflection from photovoltaic cells and make them more efficient.

Intel slashes SSD prices

Intel has cut the prices of its solid-state disks, writes Information Week.

In an e-mail sent to the media, Intel said the new prices for its solid state drives, the 1.8-inch X18-M and 2.5-inch X25-M, are $390 each.

The 160GB version of the drives is $765. The former prices were $595 and $945, respectively.

Semiconductor laser chip revealed

A single semiconductor laser chip with a tuning range of 200nm has been unveiled by researchers at Arizona State University, US, states Optics.org.

The device tunes between 500nm and 700nm, a record-breaking performance according to research leader Cun-Zheng Ning.

Widely 'tunable' semiconductor lasers could be deployed in applications as diverse as spectroscopy, telecommunications, on-chip biological and chemical detection.

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