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Sharp announces world’s thinnest mobile phone solar panel

Categories: Announcements,
By: , IntoMobile
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 at 4:44 PM

Solar-powered cellphones are still rare these days. But, that may soon change, if Sharp has anything to say about it. Sharp has announced that their thinnest mobile phone solar panel is now available to cellphone manufacturers around the world to use in future hardware. The LR0GC02 Solar Panel module comes in at just 0.8mm thick, helping it secure the title of “World’s thinnest solar panel.”

sharp-mobile-solar-panels-industrys-thinnest-1

Sharp hopes to make solar-powered cellphones more convenient by slimming down the solar panel itself. But, all that thinness comes at a price, the LR0GC02 Solar Panel is only capable of outputting some 300 mW of power. That’s not nearly enough to power a smartphone on its own, but it could be used to keep a traditional Li-ion battery topped-off when in sunlight.

If you’re still trying to imagine what a 0.8mm thick panel looks like, try imagining a 100µm thick piece of dust and then shave off 20µm. Better now? Good.

[Akihabara via: Pocket-lint]

About The Author

Will Park

Will hails from The City of Angels - Los Angeles, California. He spends his time playing with his numerous gadgets and looking forward to seeing what future holds for mobile technology. An avid promoter of a fully "digital" life, he promotes the widespread adoption of truly mobile, paper-less living. He dreams of the day when he can go completely digital. No more snail mail, paper receipts, bound books, notepads/spiral notebooks, credit cards, hard currency. He's a digital warrior - fighting for the converged life. He is an idealist and a realist - he has a perfect view of what the world should be but knows that the world is not perfect. Can we ever hope to see Will's dream become reality? We'll see...