eli5: Do solar panels only work with sunlight, or can they be tuned to capture energy from other wavelengths outside the visible spectrum?

Question

eli5: Do solar panels only work with sunlight, or can they be tuned to capture energy from other wavelengths outside the visible spectrum?

In: 2876

Answer 1

Yes, researchers recently successfully tested a solar cell that works at night using the energy the earth absorbs during the day and then invisibly radiates at night in the infrared portion of the spectrum.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/05/18/australian-researchers-crack-nighttime-solar/