A new method of slicing wafers of germanium, for use in more efficient types of solar power cells has been devised by U.S. scientists.

According to University of Utah researcher Dinesh Rakwal and Assistant Professor Eberhard Bamberg, “Our new method should lower the cost of such cells by reducing the waste and breakage of the brittle semiconductor.”

Low cost space cells are usually used on spacecraft. However Bamberg feels, “Improved wafer-slicing method will allow the use of germanium-based, high-efficiency solar cells in areas where cost is a hampering factor.”

“We're coming up with a more efficient way of making germanium wafers for solar cells to reduce the cost and weight of these solar cells and make them defect-free,” informed Rakwal, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering.

This study which is supposed to come out in print next year in the journal's print edition, will presently appear online in the Journal of Materials Processing Technology later this month or early October