China Nuvo Solar Energy Inc. (Nuvo) is a development-stage company that is designing with a view toward manufacturing solar photovoltaic (PV) cell technology products. It own a solar cell technology based on photovoltaic cells with integral light-transmitting wave guides in a ceramic sleeve.
Das Patent: (source China Nuvo Solar)
The science used in our solar cell technology is based on an invention entitled, “Photovoltaic cell with integral light transmitting waveguide in a ceramic sleeve”, and utilizes Cadmium/Tellurium Cadmium/Sulfide powders layered in a ceramic sleeve with a copper back contact. The solar cell can utilize a variety of materials in powdered form layered in a ceramic sleeve with a conductive metal back contact. The ceramic sleeve eliminates the need for vacuum chambers or a vat with a molten material. A removable lens is clamped on to the cell. By having a removable lens, we are able to repair or add materials to the cell if necessary unlike existing technology. The cell utilizes a wave guide to carry light through the cell. In addition, the wave guide can photo generate an electrical potential in the cell. The material and amount of layers determines voltage while amperage is dependent in part upon particle size. In essence, a multiple stacked solar cell using a wave guide transfers the square conversion area of the solar cell exposed to the sun from the horizontal to the vertical.
Our patent pending technology incorporates a process that is conducive to manufacturing using a batch process. This is possible because the solar cell cylinder itself replaces the necessity to use expensive vacuum chambers during production. We believe this approach is the most expeditious and cost-effective alternative to development of manufacturing capability. Consequently, since the batch processing approach is highly labor intensive, Nuvo has executed a definitive agreement with Pioneer Materials, Inc. to establish a pilot manufacturing facility in China due to the fact that the only independent mine and refining operations for Cadmium/Tellurium production known to the Company in the world is located in China. In addition, over 50 companies in China have announced refining capacity for Silicon. Cadmium/Tellurium and Silicon are some of the raw materials that can be used in our production process.
Our technology uses a ceramic sleeve as a receptacle for the various materials used for a solar cell. The ceramic sleeve replaces typical equipment such as expensive vacuum chambers thereby permitting the interchangeability of materials. Production processes using a vacuum chamber in many cases cannot interchange materials because of contamination issues. We believe that by utilizing the technology, if a shortage of one type of material occurs, a shift can be made quickly and economically to a more cost effective but complementary material. The materials that can be used in these cells goes from soft materials like Cadmium/Tellurium to hard materials like Silicon.
A recently published independent report by the Joannopoulos Research Group at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (“MIT”) determined that light trapping was increased by 37% by wave guides they placed into photovoltaic cells. This was accomplished by placing clear crystal particles as waveguides within the solar cell’s layered or stacked semiconductor materials. We believe our technology offers a number of significant advantages in light trapping efficiencies and certain production economies compared to current technologies. We believe our technology can increase light trapping even further than the MIT method by inter-dispersing these clear crystal particles in a random manner. In addition, these wave guides allow even more layers of photovoltaic materials to be put down. The wave guides bring the light down even further than the few microns it can now travel in most materials. We believe these ceramic sleeve solar cells with wave guides lend themselves to ideal cells for use in a concentrator system and other specialty applications.
How it works
The Company’s photovoltaic cells consist of:
1. An initial semiconductor layer, comprised of N type semiconductor material having a top surface and a bottom surface. Light-transmitting particles are interspersed within the N type semiconductor material; and
2. A second semiconductor layer, consisting of P type semiconductor material having a top surface and a bottom surface. Light-transmitting particles are interspersed within the P type semiconductor material. The top surface of the second layer is in direct physical and electrical contact with the bottom surface of the first layer to form an N-P junction
The generation of electrical current from the lower N-P junctions of a stacked multi-layer photovoltaic cell results from the transmission of light through each semiconductor layer to the lower semiconductor layers. As a result, photovoltaic cells are produced which exhibit greater current-generating capacity for a given surface area of sunlight exposure.
The technology utilizes light-transmitting materials reduced to a powder form, typically through grinding the material to a size of 5 micrometers to 150 micrometers, followed by a further reduction in the particle size to 400 to 800 nanometers.
A wave guide carries light through the cell. This is achieved by exciting metallic structures that cause the conduction electrons to oscillate. Conduction electrons improve the absorption and emission of light from thin planar semiconductor layers by coupling the light with the wave guide modes of the semiconductor layer. Enhancing absorption through the use of conduction electrons also avoids the increase in surface recombination that occurs with conventional light-trapping methods.
The wave guide mode concentrates electrical potential in the cell. The material and amount of layers determines voltage while amperage is determined by particle size. The multiple stacked solar cell and wave guide mode enables sunlight- exposed conversion areas to be maximized by shifting the orientation from horizontal to vertical.
In addition, the technology enables PV cells to be packaged in any desired physical shape and with a reduced overall surface area such as cubes or elongated tubular structures designed to fit within specific size and shape constraints. This design flexibility greatly reduces the difficulty and costs of shipping, storing, deploying, and securing large solar module arrays.
Sonstige info's:
This company is taking a gamble on solar energy. Formerly game machine manufacturer Interactive Games, China Nuvo Solar Energy is a development-stage company focused on establishing a solar technology manufacturing plant in China. The company holds the rights to a patent for a new type of solar cell that it hopes will offer lower manufacturing costs than current types of silicon-based photovoltaic solar cells. Interactive Games changed its name after acquiring Nuvo Solar Energy in 2007; it is looking to spin off its former gaming business to shareholders.
Das Patent: (source China Nuvo Solar)
The science used in our solar cell technology is based on an invention entitled, “Photovoltaic cell with integral light transmitting waveguide in a ceramic sleeve”, and utilizes Cadmium/Tellurium Cadmium/Sulfide powders layered in a ceramic sleeve with a copper back contact. The solar cell can utilize a variety of materials in powdered form layered in a ceramic sleeve with a conductive metal back contact. The ceramic sleeve eliminates the need for vacuum chambers or a vat with a molten material. A removable lens is clamped on to the cell. By having a removable lens, we are able to repair or add materials to the cell if necessary unlike existing technology. The cell utilizes a wave guide to carry light through the cell. In addition, the wave guide can photo generate an electrical potential in the cell. The material and amount of layers determines voltage while amperage is dependent in part upon particle size. In essence, a multiple stacked solar cell using a wave guide transfers the square conversion area of the solar cell exposed to the sun from the horizontal to the vertical.
Our patent pending technology incorporates a process that is conducive to manufacturing using a batch process. This is possible because the solar cell cylinder itself replaces the necessity to use expensive vacuum chambers during production. We believe this approach is the most expeditious and cost-effective alternative to development of manufacturing capability. Consequently, since the batch processing approach is highly labor intensive, Nuvo has executed a definitive agreement with Pioneer Materials, Inc. to establish a pilot manufacturing facility in China due to the fact that the only independent mine and refining operations for Cadmium/Tellurium production known to the Company in the world is located in China. In addition, over 50 companies in China have announced refining capacity for Silicon. Cadmium/Tellurium and Silicon are some of the raw materials that can be used in our production process.
Our technology uses a ceramic sleeve as a receptacle for the various materials used for a solar cell. The ceramic sleeve replaces typical equipment such as expensive vacuum chambers thereby permitting the interchangeability of materials. Production processes using a vacuum chamber in many cases cannot interchange materials because of contamination issues. We believe that by utilizing the technology, if a shortage of one type of material occurs, a shift can be made quickly and economically to a more cost effective but complementary material. The materials that can be used in these cells goes from soft materials like Cadmium/Tellurium to hard materials like Silicon.
A recently published independent report by the Joannopoulos Research Group at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (“MIT”) determined that light trapping was increased by 37% by wave guides they placed into photovoltaic cells. This was accomplished by placing clear crystal particles as waveguides within the solar cell’s layered or stacked semiconductor materials. We believe our technology offers a number of significant advantages in light trapping efficiencies and certain production economies compared to current technologies. We believe our technology can increase light trapping even further than the MIT method by inter-dispersing these clear crystal particles in a random manner. In addition, these wave guides allow even more layers of photovoltaic materials to be put down. The wave guides bring the light down even further than the few microns it can now travel in most materials. We believe these ceramic sleeve solar cells with wave guides lend themselves to ideal cells for use in a concentrator system and other specialty applications.
How it works
The Company’s photovoltaic cells consist of:
1. An initial semiconductor layer, comprised of N type semiconductor material having a top surface and a bottom surface. Light-transmitting particles are interspersed within the N type semiconductor material; and
2. A second semiconductor layer, consisting of P type semiconductor material having a top surface and a bottom surface. Light-transmitting particles are interspersed within the P type semiconductor material. The top surface of the second layer is in direct physical and electrical contact with the bottom surface of the first layer to form an N-P junction
The generation of electrical current from the lower N-P junctions of a stacked multi-layer photovoltaic cell results from the transmission of light through each semiconductor layer to the lower semiconductor layers. As a result, photovoltaic cells are produced which exhibit greater current-generating capacity for a given surface area of sunlight exposure.
The technology utilizes light-transmitting materials reduced to a powder form, typically through grinding the material to a size of 5 micrometers to 150 micrometers, followed by a further reduction in the particle size to 400 to 800 nanometers.
A wave guide carries light through the cell. This is achieved by exciting metallic structures that cause the conduction electrons to oscillate. Conduction electrons improve the absorption and emission of light from thin planar semiconductor layers by coupling the light with the wave guide modes of the semiconductor layer. Enhancing absorption through the use of conduction electrons also avoids the increase in surface recombination that occurs with conventional light-trapping methods.
The wave guide mode concentrates electrical potential in the cell. The material and amount of layers determines voltage while amperage is determined by particle size. The multiple stacked solar cell and wave guide mode enables sunlight- exposed conversion areas to be maximized by shifting the orientation from horizontal to vertical.
In addition, the technology enables PV cells to be packaged in any desired physical shape and with a reduced overall surface area such as cubes or elongated tubular structures designed to fit within specific size and shape constraints. This design flexibility greatly reduces the difficulty and costs of shipping, storing, deploying, and securing large solar module arrays.
Sonstige info's:
This company is taking a gamble on solar energy. Formerly game machine manufacturer Interactive Games, China Nuvo Solar Energy is a development-stage company focused on establishing a solar technology manufacturing plant in China. The company holds the rights to a patent for a new type of solar cell that it hopes will offer lower manufacturing costs than current types of silicon-based photovoltaic solar cells. Interactive Games changed its name after acquiring Nuvo Solar Energy in 2007; it is looking to spin off its former gaming business to shareholders.
