![\"flex-silicon\"](\"http:\/\/a323.yahoofs.com\/ymg\/ecogeek\/ecogeek-295765445-1266362738.jpg?ymy1LsCDWFiUoXp6\")
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Researchers have found a way to make flexible silicon solar cells using only 1 percent of the material used in conventional solar cells.<\/p>\n
The cells are made of micron-sized silicon wires that are encased in a flexible polymer that can be rolled or bent. The researchers at Cal Tech<\/a> who developed the cells eventually see them being used in clothing, but, for now, the cells could create cheaper and easier-to-install solar panels.<\/p>\n Large consumer electronic companies like Sharp have experimented with organic thin-film solar cells, which are flexible, but they’re less efficient than those made with silicon. This breakthrough is the latest in a recent crop of studies combining the efficiency of silicon (about 15 to 20 percent efficiency) with the flexibility of the organic thin-film cells, but this one has the distinction of using only 1\/100th of the amount of silicon per cell as a traditional silicon wafer.<\/p>\n An added bonus to this type of solar cell is that existing manufacturing technology could be used to make them, further helping to keep cost down.<\/p>\n