News and Updates

Displaying 1 - 25 of 54

Spotlight: Using Robots to Assess Photovoltaic Cells

October 4, 2023

How can we make photovoltaic cells (such as those used for solar panels) work more efficiently, even in diffuse or indirect light?

Maria Munoz poses in the lab, wearing safety goggles and heavy gloves.

Spotlight: Maria Munoz’s Journey Into Spectroscopy Took Her Around the World

November 1, 2022

To reach this point, NIST postdoctoral researcher Maria Munoz journeyed across borders and seas. Take a trip with us as we trace her career path from elementary...

NIST Researcher Helps Industry with Testing Interoperability between Grid and Renewables

November 1, 2022

In October 2022, NIST researcher Cuong Nguyen contributed his testing expertise at the OpenFMB PlugFest 2.0, held at the Duke Energy Mount Holly facility in...

Three people pose smiling for a casual selfie in front of white rectangle of material with some cracks in it.

Spotlight: Examining Solar Panel Materials at the Microscale

September 12, 2022

Before making the investment in an array of solar panels, potential buyers may wonder: How long will the technology last before it breaks down? That’s just what...

NIST Develops Interoperability Profile for Distributed Energy Resources and Grid Integration

July 1, 2022

With the increasing use of distributed energy resources (DER) – solar, wind, and more – to generate power, organizations have developed standards for their...

NIST Offers Guidelines for Securing Distributed Energy Resources and Proposes Research

November 1, 2021

In October 2021, NIST published Distributed Energy Resource Security: Potential Guidelines and Research Topics. This NIST Tech Note addresses an effort to...

Common Solar Tech Can Power Smart Devices Indoors, NIST Study Finds

August 19, 2021

Any time you turn on a light at home or in the office, you are expending energy. But what if flipping the light switch meant producing energy too? We usually...

NIST Study Finds Ideal Doping Concentration and 3D/2D Structure to Prevent Degradation of Potential Solar Power Material

April 19, 2021

The crystal known as perovskite is a promising photovoltaic material for harnessing energy from sunlight. Perovskites have several advantages over silicon, the...

New NIST Framework Strives for Cleaner, More Secure Power Grid

February 18, 2021

Whether it’s a new set of solar panels glistening on a neighbor’s roof or a freshly installed smart thermostat at home, burgeoning renewable and smart...

Woman wearing protective face covering works in a lab.

Spotlight: Stephanie Moffitt's Search for the Causes of Solar Panel Failures

September 24, 2020

Solar panels face attack on all sides, so NIST researchers are coming to their defense and studying the causes of failures. Large fields of solar panels...

Sunlight shines through solar panel backsheet.

NIST Study Uncovers a Potential Driver of Premature Solar Panel Failures

March 10, 2020

Unlike diamonds, solar panels are not forever. Ultraviolet rays, gusts of wind and heavy rain wear away at them over their lifetime. Manufacturers typically...

View from above, taken by a drone, of large array of solar panels on the campus of NIST near buildings and parking lots

NIST Celebrates Earth Day with a Massive New Solar Energy Array

April 22, 2019

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) held a ribbon-cutting today on its newest and largest...

Illustration of sunlight shining on solar panel covered with nanometer-scale beads.

Psst! A Whispering Gallery for Light Boosts Solar Cells

April 13, 2018

Trapping light with an optical version of a whispering gallery, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a...

Sub-microscopic LEDs Shed New Light on Advanced Materials

July 12, 2017

One of the persistent challenges in 21 st century metrology is the need to measure ever-more-detailed properties of ever-smaller things, from microchip features...

Novel Techniques Examine Solar Cells with Nanoscale Precision

June 9, 2017

Using two novel techniques, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have for the first time examined, with nanometer-scale...

diagram of perovskite sample examined by the photothermal indued resonance technique

Unexpected Property May Raise Material’s Prospects as Solar Cell

May 22, 2017

Crystalline materials known as perovskites could become the next superstars of solar cells. Over the past few years, researchers have demonstrated that a...

Let’s Roll: Material for Polymer Solar Cells May Lend Itself to Large-Area Processing

August 12, 2016

For all the promise they have shown in the lab, polymer solar cells still need to “get on a roll” like the ones employed in printing newspapers so that large...

NIST Calibrates Quartz Crystals for Fusion Device

September 29, 2015

Last spring, PML's x-ray calibration facilities were used in a pinch – a Z pinch, that is. The Sandia National Laboratories' Z Pulsed Power Facility, or "Z...

NIST Calculates High Cost of Hydrogen Pipelines, Shows How to Reduce It

July 20, 2015

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has put firm numbers on the high costs of installing pipelines to transport hydrogen fuel—and also...

NIST's 'Nano-Raspberries' Could Bear Fruit in Fuel Cells

June 9, 2015

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a fast, simple process for making platinum "nano-raspberries"...

NIST Group Drafts Plug-and-Pay Standards

February 12, 2015

Plug-in electric vehicles make up a growing share of the nation's rolling stock and are prompting increased demand for the electrical equivalent of the corner...

Guidelines for Enhancing Solar Cells Using Surface Plasmon Polaritons

August 15, 2014

Researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) have established guidelines for using surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) to improve...

Fill 'er Up: NIST Develops Prototype Meter Test for Hydrogen Refueling Stations

July 21, 2014

To support the fair sale of gaseous hydrogen as a vehicle fuel, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a...

NIST Test House Exceeds Goal; Ends Year with Energy to Spare

July 1, 2014

The net-zero energy test house at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in suburban Washington, D.C., not only absorbed winter's best shot...

Accelerating Green Technology Transfer to Impact American Lives

June 17, 2014

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Blog Post by Colleen V. Chien, senior advisor to the Chief Technology Officer, Intellectual Property and...

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