Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a double - paned solar glass using quantum dot photovoltaic technology that could drive down the cost of solar electricity . The glass comprises a front pane with a layer of highly emissive, manganese doped quantum dots deposited onto it, and a second pane of glass comprising a copper-indium-selenide layer. Using a system known as " solar - spectrum glass " , the first pane of glass has a layer of highly emissive quantum dots that are doped with manganese , which absorb blue and ultraviolet light , while the second pane includes a silicon - indium - selenide layer , which absorbs the light photons . The light photons are guided by internal reflection on to solar cells built into the window frame , with almost no loss of energy due to self - absorption .
Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a double - paned solar glass using quantum dot photovoltaic technology that could drive down the cost of solar electricity . Using a system known as " solar - spectrum glass " , the first pane of glass has a layer of highly emissive quantum dots that are doped with manganese , which absorb blue and ultraviolet light , while the second pane includes a silicon - indium - selenide layer , which absorbs the light photons . The light photons are guided by internal reflection on to solar cells built into the window frame , with almost no loss of energy due to self - absorption .