First Tellurium Corp. reported that scientists have transformed transparent, tellurite glass into a photovoltaic surface that generates electricity. The technology could be used to turn glass windows into power-generating solar panels.

A February 2 article in TechRadar reported that the revolutionary discovery was made by physicists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) in collaboration with scientists from Tokyo Tech. Led by the Galatea Lab in Neuchatel, Switzerland, researchers exposed tellurite glass to femtosecond laser light, a well-established technology used in eye surgeries. This process led to the unexpected discovery of nanoscale tellurium and tellurium oxide crystals, both semiconducting materials, forming where the glass was exposed to the laser.

Transparent solar power windows, first developed by researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) in 2014, are already in limited use in the US and Europe. The MSU team claims that widespread use of highly transparent solar applications, together with rooftop units, could nearly meet U.S. electricity demand and drastically reduce the use of fossil fuels. The new tellurite glass surface, however, could provide a significant advantage over current transparent solar technology.

Bellouard noted that the process requires no additional materials, only tellurite glass and a femtosecond laser, which may offer significant savings in materials and manufacturing.