One of these days, her project would be completed, hopefully in 2 to 3 years time, we would be able to do it too, at home, using materials that we can buy and the kitchen equipments that we have, and a slightly modified inkjet printer.
I'm dying to know the efficiency rating that she has achieved. It is still in the early stages, but is very promising.
Joe
Nicole Kuepper, a 23 year-old Australian scientist has invented a method of making cheap solar cells out of simple materials, that any DIY-er could find in his home.
She has painted a silicon wafer with something like nail polish, then she put the wafer in a modified inkjet printer, and printed a high resolution pattern with a solution that dilutes the nail polish, like acetone. After that, she metalized the entire thing with an aluminum spray and put it into an oven at about 550°F (more or less the temperature at which you bake the pizza), and voilà! Theres the worlds cheapest silicon solar cell!
Watch the video, and if you find out more about her invention of the patterns involved, remember to place a comment here on GreenOptimistic.com, so we can find out how to do that ourselves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8eNeReo-hw
Original article:
http://www.greenoptimistic.com/2008/10/10/cheapest-inkjet-solar-cells/ 
