Solar Cells Info

By Michael Berger, March 4, 2008
Source: Nanowerk Spotlight
http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=4798.php

Nanotechnology is already part of the process through which silicon-based photovoltaic solar cells – which make up some 95 percent of the solar cell market today – produce electricity. Nanotechnology is also the focus of research and development of a new generation of solar power technology that includes organic and inorganic solar cells derived from nanocrystals that can convert sunlight into electricity at a fraction of the cost of silicon solar cells. (more…)

BY Jon Van,  March 3, 2008
Source: Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/
chi-mon_notebook_0303mar03,1,6604444.story

Efforts by Northwestern University scientists to boost the efficiency of plastic-like flexible solar cells could make the technology commercially viable.  Researchers have demonstrated a 40 percent efficiency increase in organic photovoltaic cells and believe that with further work they can raise that output significantly. Flexible solar panels could be manufactured cheaply using technology similar to printing newspapers or the packaging used for potato chips, said Tobin J. Marks, an NU chemistry professor who co-leads the research team with Robert Chang, a materials science professor.
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Source: EMSNow.com /March 7, 2008
http://www.emsnow.com/npps/story.cfm?pg=story&id=32150

DEK has announced a complete metallization line for solar-cell production rated at 1200 wafers per hour, saving manufacturers the time and expense of commissioning and integrating equipment from multiple suppliers. The first showing of this new line will be at BTU’s Solar Lab Grand Opening, in Shanghai, 18-19 March 2008.
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By Lisa Zyga /March 07, 2008
Source: PhysOrg.com
http://www.physorg.com/news124111555.html

For the first time, researchers have created solar cells made of different-sized quantum dots, each tuned to a specific wavelength of light. By arranging these quantum dots in an ordered pattern, the scientists hope that they can one day fabricate “rainbow” solar cells, which can efficiently harvest a large part of the useful spectrum of sunlight.  The group of researchers from the University of Notre Dame, Anusorn Kongkanand, Kevin Tvrdy, Kensuke Takechi, Masaru Kuno, and Prashant Kamat, have published their study in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Their research was funded by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the Department of Energy. (more…)

University of Swansea working with metals giant Corus on photovoltaic solar cells that could be “painted” onto steel as it is manufactured
James Murray, BusinessGreen, 10 Mar 2008
Source: BusinessGreen.com
http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/
2211621/welsh-boffins-investigate-sci

It might sound like something out of a science fiction film, but Welsh scientists claim to have developed a method for capturing solar energy using a new type of paint-like solar cells that could be applied to steel structures, raising the prospect of new buildings that generate usable energy from their external surfaces.

Researchers at the University of Swansea claim the breakthrough was made by an engineering doctorate student who was studying how sunlight degrades paint and found that it could prove possible to develop a type of paint that could exploit a new photovoltaic method of capturing solar energy.
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By Chris Nuttall in San Francisco /March 5 2008
Source: Financial Times (ft.com)
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/24e748fe-ea57-11dc-b3c9-0000779fd2ac.html

Applied Materials’ gamble on becoming a major supplier to the solar panel industry appeared to have paid off on Tuesday when it won a $1.9bn order, the biggest ever for its production equipment.  Analysts said the deal for the world’s largest supplier of equipment for the semiconductor industry was about five times bigger than any order it had ever received in its core business.
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Yukiko Kanoh, Nikkei Electronics /Feb 29, 2008
Source: TechOn
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080229/148271/

Sharp’s solar cell production (Source: Sharp’s estimates based on IEA PVPS Annual Report 2007). The amount through 1998 is a cumulative total.   Sharp Corp has announced its cumulative production of solar cells surpassed 2GW at the end of 2007. Sharp said it is the first solar cell manufacturer that has ever marked cumulative production of 2GW across the world.
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Masaaki Maruyama, Industry-University Collaboration Managing Office /
Source: TechOn /Mar 3, 2008
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080303/148336/

Feasibility test of wavelength conversion material for solar cells using Eu complex. Tests on durability, etc, are being conducted at Sanvic’s Hosoe Plant (photo courtesy of AIST)  Nanoarchitectonics Research Center of Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) developed a light wavelength conversion material for use in crystalline silicon solar cells. (more…)

Yousuke Ogasawara, Nikkei Electronics, Mar 7, 2008
Source: TechOn
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080307/148677/

Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) developed a tandem type dye-sensitized solar cell with an energy conversion efficiency of 11.0%. The new solar cell outperforms any existing solar cells, according to AIST.  A tandem type solar cell has a structure in which two types of dye-sensitized solar cells are attached to each other. To enhance the conversion efficiency, AIST formed a highly transparent TiO2 electrode and used it in the upper cell. (more…)

Satoshi Ookubo, Nikkei Electronics /Feb 27, 2008
Source. TechOn.com
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080227/148136/

Peccell Technologies Inc prototyped a large-size solar cell module measuring 2.1 x 0.8m. The company developed a transparent conductive dye-sensitized solar cell using a plastic substrate in collaboration with Fujimori Kogyo Co Ltd and Showa Denko KK.

With the use of plastic substrate, the 0.5mm thick module is flexible and weighs only 800g/m2. According to Peccell, it is the lightest solar cell and the largest in the world for a dye-sensitized cell. The module conversion efficiency is expected to be approximately 3%. When installed indoors, the output voltage of the module exceeds 100V.  The module is on display at the 1st International Photovoltaic Power Generation Expo (PV EXPO 2008) from Feb 27-28, 2008. (more…)