December 4, 2006—New nanosilicon photovoltaic solar cell technology could adapt home and office glass windows into ones capable of generating electricity from sunlight without losing significant transparency or requiring major changes in manufacturing infrastructure, says Octillion, the company developing the technology.
Octillion Corp. has announced that its research and development initiatives are well under way for the development of a patent-pending technology that could turn glass windows into ones capable of converting solar energy into electricity.
These nanosilicon photovoltaic solar cells are created through a unique electrochemical and ultrasound process that produces identically sized (1 to 4 nanometers in diameter) highly luminescent nanoparticles of silicon that provide varying wavelengths of photoluminescence with high quantum down conversion efficiency of short wavelengths (50% to 60%). The process of producing these silicon nanoparticles is supported by 10 issued US patents, 7 pending US patents, 2 issued foreign counterpart patents and 19 pending foreign counterpart patents, says the company.
When thin films of silicon nanoparticles are deposited (sprayed) onto silicon substrates, ultraviolet light is absorbed and converted into electrical current. With appropriate connections, the film acts as nanosilicon photovoltaic solar cells that has the potential of converting solar radiation to electrical energy.
The company’s research and development work is being conducted at research facilities located at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) pursuant to a Sponsored Research Agreement (SRA) with UIUC. Octillion Corp., together with its wholly owned subsidiaries, is a technology incubator focused on the identification, acquisition, development and eventual commercialization of emerging technologies.
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