The hottest technological innovation frontier of p

At the forefront of photovoltaic and solar power technology innovation in 2010, many related materials, processes and technology enterprises are ready to claim that they have mastered photovoltaic technology. To some extent, this can attract a lot of public attention to photovoltaic technology. But some of them are worthy of long-term research, while others only focus on solving immediate problems. These innovative technologies are ready to be launched in the coming months. Joyce Laird made some analysis on this

the science behind innovation

there is nothing better than looking at technological innovation from the perspective of scientific research! This can abandon the traditional scientific and technological innovation for the publicity and promotion of a product or technology in the business model. Argonne National Laboratory nanomaterials Research Center (Illinois) is such a research institution, which can provide resources for any company that wants to use leading technology to gain a competitive advantage

argonne assistant researcher Dr. Seth B. Darling said that there are many advanced technical means to reduce the cost of solar cells, such as solar cells manufactured by atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology

another advanced technology is solar concentrator. General solar concentrators are large-scale devices that can collect sunlight. "This type of solar concentrator can be fixed and operate efficiently in diffuse light, which is what is needed in some areas with low solar energy. We have developed a model and studied it to optimize some relevant parameters. We are using these parameters to directly guide the development of some materials. For example, inorganic semiconductor nanocrystalline materials not only have the advantages of high luminous efficiency, but also have quantum dots Ability to adjust. You can adjust its band gap or the energy it absorbs, and it can also obtain a wide spectrum, even close to the infrared part of the spectrum. There is a large part of electric energy that cannot be obtained by using other solar technologies, "Darling said. "Argonne's research is between long-term research in academia and short-term application in industry, which is a very favorable position for us, because an impartial bridge is needed between the two. In the final analysis, we are not a profit-making company, and our goal is to provide our research results to our partners."

intermolecular is another research institution of different types, which is committed to R & D portfolio, that is, conducting similar multi-level research at the same time. "Our equipment looks like a semiconductor processing tool, but it is specially designed and built for large-scale research and development. It can carry out many different tests in parallel test spaces at the same time, rather than using a complete solar substrate to test one by one," said Mr. J. Craig hunter, vice president and general manager of solar energy and energy technology. Whether it is crystal or film, Hunter pointed out that even some small changes in the test process will have an impact on the final product. Before making the decision of investment project and full production, it is very important to understand the operation process of the whole process and the maximum defects of the product that can be borne. "We provide customers with one-to-one VIP customer service," Hunter said. "We can process 1000 individual solar cells every week and record the different parameters of each cell and the important parameters that may affect the operation of the whole device. We also have professional software and measurement system, which can quickly and comprehensively record the information and data of all solar cells and store them for more accurate comparison and analysis."

provide support for innovation

the innovation of components, equipment and materials can also help manufacturers in the photovoltaic field improve product quality and process

◆ module

biosolar is a company whose mission is to transform photovoltaic modules into more "green and environmental protection". This may sound contradictory. In fact, when solar energy is becoming the greenest renewable energy we can use, many photovoltaic modules are not necessarily green. For example, the main raw material of the backplane is usually petroleum, and its BioSolar alternative product is called biobacksheet

"there are many different types of backboards, but most of them are oil-based materials. This kind of backboards has reached 90% utilization rate in crystal and some amorphous silicon thin film power generation equipment. More advanced thin films, CIGS and cadmium telluride power generation equipment also use backboards, but they have more strict requirements for products. Their products must be able to strictly isolate moisture," CEO David Lee said. Biobacksheet (biological backboard) is based on patented formula technology, and only about 30 enterprises use cotton and a nylon resin made of castor oil as the main material. Lee said that it provides a perfect barrier against moisture and has good electrical insulation. The company is ready to put into small batch production, and samples will be provided to photovoltaic manufacturers for testing in 2010

◆ equipment

tyco thermal controls has entered the thin film photovoltaic (TFPV) market with their semiconductor and flat panel TV products. "We have large flat panel heat treatment equipment necessary for the production of flat screen, which can meet the requirements of large-scale vacuum coating and film lamination heating. There are also heat treatment equipment that uses radiant heat energy for vacuum coating and conductive heat energy for film lamination heat treatment." Said Chris Mayes, director of product marketing

"we have developed a flat substrate with very uniform heating, and then we connect cables on its back. The edge of the device can be cooled quickly, and then we set more cables. We have changed the substrate from the traditional 2 feet × The size of 2 feet has been expanded to 6 feet × 6 feet. This, coupled with the improvement from the traditional heating oil as the medium to ring, makes the treatment process more stable and reduces maintenance, "Mayes said. "We are developing a beneficial technology."

◆ materials

heraeus photovoltaic business department was originally the thick film business department of WC Heraeus precious metals and technology group, headquartered in Hanau, Germany. In January last year, they separated from the headquarters and set up their own business department. They have developed a new silver plating coating for the panel, which has excellent contact performance. In addition, the different aspect ratios of single crystal and polycrystalline wafers and a variety of thin film resistance emitters can achieve higher efficiency. Andy London, manager of Heraeus photovoltaic business department, said, "the chemical characteristics of our latest sol9235h cadmium free silver plating coating can improve the anti-corrosion efficiency of the reflective coating and greatly improve the contact performance of solar cells."

according to London, their products can improve the product efficiency of crystalline silicon photovoltaic manufacturers by 0.3% to 0.5% compared with other similar products. "We plan to launch two or three new products every year. Our goal is to help enterprises improve production efficiency and obtain higher output." London said

integral technologies (it) has a new edge technology, mixed conductive polymer granular materials with patented technology. In fact, the development of this technology stems from a flat-panel satellite antenna tracking system manufactured by the company. In the manufacturing process, a plastic bottom material (electriplast) that can carry charge is required. At that time, no mainstream company produced similar materials. "Through our own experiments, we have produced an effective mixed material," said CEO Bill Robinson. "We have developed a three-dimensional granular material that can be manufactured by injection molding or extrusion technology. This is also an ideal base plate material for solar panels."

the new product provided by another plextronics company for the photovoltaic market is also made by using conductive polymer technology, but its main raw material is composed of ink. PL can also accept instructions from other equipment through RS232 port. Excore OC ink is a multifunctional and customizable conductive material, which has an absorption layer only about 200 nm in size. This product is named the third generation thin film product by plextronics

"conductive polymers have grown to megawatts," said James Dietz, vice president of business development. "Although this technology is still in the development stage, we are conducting experiments. We have purchased materials such as substrates, glass and plastics, and used all the photoelectric technology of the company to make this technology a product, which is very simple and attractive. At present, our ink products have more than 20 customers in different fields. There is another product that can be used indoors, because it is illuminated by fluorescent lamps Can play a very high efficiency. The other is for the manufacture of solar panels. We only launched the initial product in the second half of 2008, but now we have realized that this product has great potential

future prospects of crystalline silicon and thin-film photovoltaic

about Solar has developed thin-film solar cells using cadmium telluride (CdTe) technology. According to Dennis csehi, vice president of engineering, this technology greatly simplifies the production process, reduces the cost of products, and can produce competitive solar cell products. "This is a very simple process, everything is carried out in vacuum. The semiconductor layer is formed at one time, and then we carry out subsequent processing procedures such as laser dicing and module assembly. Unlike other products in the film market, our product assembly is not a simple lamination process. We have a patented processing technology to assemble the backplane and panel together." Csehi said

the company is currently conducting application tests on its products. Their treatment method has also recently passed the relevant certification. "We recently had two customers in Germany, juwi and wirsol. They signed a long-term agreement with us to purchase our products for the installation of large-scale solar power generation equipment." Csehi said

Michael bartholomeusz, CEO of applied quantum technology (AQT), said that AQT's mission is to help solar cell manufacturers achieve the best cost performance. "Our patented technology is based on the cathode vacuum spraying process of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cells. The cathode vacuum spraying process is the main technology for the proven production of high-capacity, high-sensitivity products such as hard disks and optical disks. This technology includes single-stage deposition, nanotechnology, raw material strengthening treatment and simplified battery interconnection design." Bartholomeusz said

aqt hopes to reduce production through the use of nanotechnology