The efficiency of solar photovoltaic equipment degrades as its temperature rises - but a new solar power system developed by researchers at Stanford University could change that forever.

A research team at the Palo Alto, California school has developed a solar technology dubbed PETE, for "photon enhanced thermionic emission." The PETE process involves semiconductor material coated with a thin layer of cesium; unlike conventional silicon-based solar panels, PETE-based solar equipment performs better as it heats up.

In fact, the researchers say, silicon panels are rendered inert at 100 degrees Celsius, but PETE panels don't reach peak efficiency until well over 200 degrees.

The Stanford technology could have applications in concentrating solar power installations, which focus sunlight on a central heating tower to convert water into steam. "The light would come in and hit our PETE device first, where we would take advantage of both the incident light and the heat that it produces, and then we would dump the waste heat to their existing thermal conversion systems," researcher Nick Melosh said.

More research is required before the PETE technology can be commercialized, but it could become common in the future.