EPFL

Video: Anti-counterfeiting technique writes invisible watermark in ceramic or glass

By April Gocha / July 6, 2016

An École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne–based startup called Nanoga has patented a system that can create photonic watermarks on ceramic, glass, and metal materials and may drastically help fight pervasive markets of counterfeit goods.

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Solar energy news roundup: Solar cells go ‘green,’ ultrathin, and power 24/7

By Stephanie Liverani / June 21, 2016

It’s officially summer—and that means more sun-filled days ahead. So it’s only fitting that we round up the latest solar energy research news. This week, solar cells get ‘greener’ and thinner, and a solar power plant in Nevada keeps the energy going 24/7.

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Video: Researchers push limits of perovskite solar cell performance with new production technique

By Stephanie Liverani / June 15, 2016

Researchers from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland, say they’re pushing the limits of solar cell performance and were able to achieve the highest performance ever measured for larger-size perovskite solar cells.

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Splitting water to bottle the sun: Storing solar energy from perovskite-powered photolysis

By April Gocha / October 21, 2014

By combining a pair of perovskite solar cells with an electrolyzer, a team of researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne has figured out how to split hydrogen from water and store it using solely the sun’s energy.

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Other materials stories that may be of interest

By Jim Destefani / July 8, 2013

CMCs for power plant applications (Science Network Western Australia) Scientists at the School of Materials Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and the School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering,…

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Other materials stories that may be of interest

By Eileen De Guire / March 26, 2013

Nanowire crystals used as the solar cells. SEM image of GaAs nanowire crystal grown on a silicon substrate. Credit: Krogstrup et al., Niels Bohr Institute. Nanowire solar cells raise efficiency limit…

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Other materials stories that may be of interest

By Eileen De Guire / February 12, 2013

Elsewhere on the materials front: Microscopic dendrites a focus in Boeing Dreamliner probe (Wall Street Journal) Aviation safety investigators are examining whether the formation of microscopic structures known as dendrites…

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Other materials stories that may be of interest

By / February 18, 2011

So many materials stories, so little time: Cornell study: Graphene grains make atomic patchwork quilts Dynamically tunable hemispherical electronic eye camera system with adjustable zoom capability Eyeglasses that use liquid crystals…

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