New Enerize Corporation solar cell technology combines 20% efficiency with a robust and proven mono-crystalline silicon technology that uses less expensive materials to substantially reduce the cost per watt of solar power generation.
Increased photovoltaic cell efficiency and use of lower cost materials are two important components in reducing the cost of solar energy. Our recent advances in the design and fabrication of proven mono-crystalline silicon solar cells have greatly increased efficiency while using materials that are less expensive than in competitive solar cell technologies.
Typical commercial monocrystalline photovoltaic systems have module efficiencies in the range of 13%-14%, with current densities of about 34 mA/cm2. Using a proprietary design and novel materials, Enerize Corporation has developed a solar cell design that achieves conversion efficiencies of 20% with current densities in the range of 40 mA/cm2 in a monocrystalline silicon system. A key element of this new technology can be applied to multi-crystalline and amorphous silicon photovoltaic systems as well.
In addition to comparisons with published specifications of other monocrystalline systems as described above, tests comparing new Enerize Corporation solar cell technology to commercially available amorphous silicon and multi-crystalline silicon systems were also carried out. These tests demonstrated that the Enerize Corporation monocrystalline technology offers substantial better performance as well as lower cost as compared to these other technologies.
At 40 kLx, for example, the Enerize Corporation cells showed a 57% increase as compared to the multi-crystalline unit tested, and more than a six-fold increase in current density as compared to the comparably sized amorphous silicon unit.
Shown to the left is a hybrid system that converts sunlight to electricity in the photovoltaic (upper) system, while quickly and efficiently collecting heat energy in the lower (black colored panel.
Approaches under development by Enerize to fabricate solar cells that are less expensive, on a per watt-hour basis, than currently available photovoltaic products include:.
Photovoltaics based on hetero-junctions comprising mono-crystalline silicon, nano-porous silicon, or nano-crystalline silicon doped with rare-earth elements.
Energy saving and reduction of labor cost by eliminating the high temperature process of phosphorous diffusion and changing the production method for anti-reflecting coatings.
Applying nano-porous silicon with predetermined sizes of nano-crystals provides maximum light absorption while decreasing the recombination loss both in the bulk volume and on the crystal surface.
Nanocrystalline silicon enables control of the width of semiconductor prohibited zone over a wide dynamic range by means of changes in morphological structure.
Doping with rare-earth elements provides increasing photosensitivity in the shorter wavelength region of the spectrum, as well as stability against radation that is especially significant in the production thin-film solar batteries for aerospace applications.
Use of nanocrystalline silicon enables control of the width of semiconductor prohibited area over a wide range by means of changes in morphological structure.
New Enerize Corporation solar cell technology combines 20% efficiency with a robust and proven mono-crystalline silicon technology that uses less expensive materials to substantially reduce the cost per watt of solar power generation.
