Solar Powered Glasses
Organic solar cells are flexible, transparent and light - and can be produced in any shape and color. As a result, they offer a wealth of applications that can not be realized with conventional silicon solar cells. Researchers at the KIT are now presenting in the trade magazine Energy Technology a pair of sunglasses with colored half-transparent solar cells in the glass surfaces, which supply a microprocessor and two displays with power.
The "smart" sunglasses, which the Working Group Organic Photovoltaics at the Lichttechnisches Institut (LTI) of KIT under the direction of Dr. Alexander Colsmann as a product study supplies itself with current to measure and display the solar radiation and ambient temperature. The lenses of the solar cells, which are fitted into a commercially available plastic frame, are hardly different in appearance and weight from conventional sunglasses. The microprocessors and the two displays are located in the brackets, on which the information on the sun's strength and temperature can be read. The solar glasses also function in the interior in the case of the illuminance of a conventional office or home lighting. Each of the two spectacle lenses under ambient lighting produces 200 microwaves of electrical power, which would be sufficient to enable applications such as a hearing aid or a step counter. On which the information on the sun's strength and temperature can be read off. The solar glasses also function in the interior in the case of the illuminance of a conventional office or home lighting. Each of the two spectacle lenses under ambient lighting produces 200 microwaves of electrical power, which would be sufficient to enable applications such as a hearing aid or a step counter. On which the information on the sun's strength and temperature can be read off. The solar glasses also function in the interior in the case of the illuminance of a conventional office or home lighting. Each of the two spectacle lenses under ambient lighting produces 200 microwaves of electrical power, which would be sufficient to enable applications such as a hearing aid or a step counter.
Abstract
We report on solution-processed, semitransparent organic solar cells that are implemented as lenses in sunglasses. The electrical power provided by the lens-fitted solar cells sustains a microelectronic circuit that is used to read out temperature and illumination intensity sensors and to make this information available on two displays integrated into the temples of the "Solar Glasses". The microelectronic circuit is designed to operate at illumination intensities down to 500"...lux, rendering the Solar Glasses suitable for outdoor and indoor use as well as for operation in diffuse light. Hence, this case study provides an example for consumer-oriented mobile applications, self-powered by integrated solar cells, which specifically exploit the unique properties of organic solar cells.
