ElectronicsWeekly.com, UK
10-04-06
Thin-film solar cells improved by 35 per cent
by Steve Bush
Iowa State University can improve the performance of the thin-film silicon solar
cells by “about 35 per cent and eliminate about 15 per cent of the drop in
performance” over time, it claimed.
The developments, said micro–electronics research centre director Vikram Dalal,
are due to discoveries in materials science and plasma chemistry that can
improve hydrogen bonding to the silicon in the thin solar cells.
No further information is available as patents are pending.
The technology has been transferred to a solar cell maker called PowerFilm.
Frank Jeffrey, CEO at PowerFilm said he would be happy to see the
performance of his company’s solar cells jump by even 20 per cent.
“It would put us in a much stronger competitive position,” he said. “But it is a
significant challenge to get the advancement Dalal would like to make.”