Using a micron-thick layer of gallium arsenide, it can get flexible solar cells that are 29 percent efficient, nearly double commodity silicon cells.

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In what could prove to be a major breakthrough for solar technology, engineers at Stanford University have successfully fabricated thin, flexible solar cells that are able to be peeled and attached to almost any surface.

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The inventors state that this could be used in flexible and efficient solar cells and light emitting diodes.

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The idea behind thin-film solar cells, however, is to work with flexible films, slashing costs while creating solar cells that can be wrapped around walls or even incorporated into tinted windows.

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Newly designed Australian army vests will be equipped with paper-thin, flexible and lightweight solar-cells with very high power-to-weight ratios.

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SoloPower makes thin-film solar cells but rather than package them into a rigid panel, its solar collectors are flexible strips.

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