Hybridisation of electricity and light

Fujitsu Labs today announced a prototype of a hybrid device that can generate electricity from both heat and light.

This is important because the unnamed device can, for the first time, generate electrical power from two separate sources at once.

This technology is also extremely economical and can be used in new applications because no wires or batteries are needed. For example, it has the potential to be used to power the sensor networks and medical sensor technologies such as body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, etc.

This device can be made from cheap organic materials. Fujitsu has changed the circuits that connect two types of semiconductor materials to operate either as a photovoltaic cell or as a thermoelectric generator.

The company has also developed a new cheap organic material that fits both types of activity and hopes to be able to commercialize its new technology in the market by 2015.