110 results about "Triple junction" patented technology

A multi-junction solar cell includes a silicon solar subcell, a GaInP solar subcell, and a GaAs solar subcell located between the silicon solar subcell and the GaInP solar subcell. The GaAs solar subcell is bonded to the silicon solar subcell such that a bonded interface exists between these subcells.

A method and a multijunction solar device having a high band gap heterojunction middle solar cell are disclosed. In one embodiment, a triple-junction solar device includes bottom, middle, and top cells. The bottom cell has a germanium (Ge) substrate and a buffer layer, wherein the buffer layer is disposed over the Ge substrate. The middle cell contains a heterojunction structure, which further includes an emitter layer and a base layer that are disposed over the bottom cell. The top cell contains an emitter layer and a base layer disposed over the middle cell.

A high efficiency triple-junction solar cell and method of manufacture therefor is provided wherein junctions are formed between different types of III-V semiconductor alloy materials, one alloy of which contains a combination of an effective amount of antimony (Sb) with gallium (Ga), indium (In), nitrogen (N, the nitride component) and arsenic (As) to form the dilute nitride semiconductor layer GaInNAsSb which has particularly favorable characteristics in a solar cell. In particular, the bandgap and lattice matching promote efficient solar energy conversion.

Apparatus and Method for Optimizing the Efficiency of Germanium Junctions in Multi-Junction Solar Cells. In a preferred embodiment, an indium gallium phosphide (InGaP) nucleation layer is disposed between the germanium (Ge) substrate and the overlying dual-junction epilayers for controlling the diffusion depth of the n-doping in the germanium junction. Specifically, by acting as a diffusion barrier to arsenic (As) contained in the overlying epilayers and as a source of n-type dopant for forming the germanium junction, the nucleation layer enables the growth time and temperature in the epilayer device process to be minimized without compromising the integrity of the dual-junction epilayer structure. This in turn allows the arsenic diffusion into the germanium substrate to be optimally controlled by varying the thickness of the nucleation layer. An active germanium junction formed in accordance with the present invention has a typical diffused junction depth that is ⅕ to ½ of that achievable in prior art devices. Furthermore, triple-junction solar cells incorporating a shallow n-p germanium junction of the present invention can attain 1 sun AM0 efficiencies in excess of 26%.

A method for storing digital information from an image sensor comprises the steps of providing an image sensor producing three-color output data at each of a plurality of pixel locations; providing a digital storage device coupled to the image sensor; sensing three-color digital output data from the image sensor; and storing said three-color output data as digital data in the digital storage device without performing any interpolation on the three-color output data. The data may be compressed prior to storage and expanded after retrieval from storage. In a preferred embodiment, the image sensor comprises a triple-junction active pixel sensor array.

A solar cell and method for producing same is disclosed. The solar cell includes a multijunction solar cell structure and a notch filter designed to reflect solar energy that does not contribute to the current output of the multijunction solar cell. By reflecting unused solar energy, the notch filter allows the solar cell to run cooler (and thus more efficiently) yet it still allows all junctions to fully realize their electrical current production capability.

A triple-junction complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) filterless color imager cell is provided. The imager cell is made from a bulk silicon (Si) substrate. A photodiode set including a first, second, and third photodiode are formed as a triple-junction structure in the Si substrate. A transistor set is connected to the photodiode set, and detects an independent output signal for each photodiode. Typically, the transistor set is formed in the top surface of the substrate. For example, the Si substrate may be a p-doped Si substrate, and the photodiode triple-junction structure includes the first photodiode forming a pn junction from an n+-doped region at the Si substrate top surface, to an underlying p-doped region. The second photodiode forms a pn junction from the p-doped region to an underlying n-well, and the third photodiode forms a pn junction from the n-well to the underlying p-doped Si substrate.

A solar cell with a superlattice structure and a fabricating method thereof are provided, which includes fabricating a superlattice structure of GaAsN / GaInAs, GaAsN / GaSbAs, or GaAsN / GaInSbAs between a base and an emitter of a middle cell of a triple junction solar cell by a strain-compensation technology. The provided solar cell not only decreases crystalline defects and increases the critical thickness of the crystal, but also makes the energy bandgap of GaAsN and GaInAs reach around the energy of 1.0 eV (electron volt). Hence, the absorption region can be raised to around the energy of 1.0 eV to enhance the efficiency of the solar cell.

A field emission electron source includes a substrate, a first conductive electrode terminated to provide electrons, an emitting composite layer for emitting electrons, and a second electrode insulated from the emitter layer and terminated to extract electrons through vacuum space. The emitting composite layer lies between and parallel to the said first and the second electrodes, and comprises nano-structures embedded in a solid matrix. One end of the nano-structures is truncated and exposed at the surface of the emitter layer so that both the length and the apex of the nano-structure are regulated and the exposed nano-tips are kept substantially the same distance from the gate electrode. The embedding material is chosen to form triple junctions with the exposed tip to further enhance the field.

The present invention discloses a fire resistant laminate and incorporating the laminate into an encapsulant for a photovoltaic module that may be used in a photovoltaic building material. More particularly, the present invention relates to fire resistant encapsulant that may be used in a triple junction amorphous silicon photovoltaic module that is fire resistant on a wide variety of buildings roofs, including residential housing, and that is flexible and lightweight. A fire resistant additive, such as solid glass spheres, may be added to encapsulant material to produce a fire resistant, cut resistant, lightweight photovoltaic device.

The invention discloses a triple-junction solar cell with a reflecting layer and a production method thereof, wherein a semiconductor material layer of the triple-junction solar cell which comprises two sets of Bragg reflecting layers (DBR) is grown on a P-Ge substrata, and the two sets of Bragg reflecting layers (DBR) are respectively a set of AlInP / AlGaInP top cell reflecting layer which is used to reflect shortwave photons and a set of AlAs / AlGaAs intermediate cell reflecting layer which is used to reflect intermediate-wave photons. The structure can reduce the thickness of the cell, reduces the free path of non-equilibrium carriers, and increases the efficiency of photo-electronic conversion.

The invention relates to a wafer-bonding-based triple-junction solar cell and a preparation method thereof. The solar cell comprises a GaInP / GaAs double-junction cell and an InGaAsP single-junction cell of which the lattices are matched with each other, wherein the two cells are connected in series in a way of wafer bonding. The preparation method comprises the following steps of: sequentially growing and forming the GaInP / GaAs double-junction cell and the InGaAsP single-junction cell by a metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method and the like; thinning, polishing and cleaning the bonding face of the GaInP / GaAs double-junction cell, and bonding the GaInP / GaAs double-junction cell with the InGaAsP cell; and making an upper electrode and a lower electrode respectively form the target product. A band gap combination of 1.90eV, 1.42eV and 1.00eV can be formed; the growing difficulty of materials is reduced; solar spectrum is fully used; current mismatch between subcells and heat loss in a photoelectric conversion process are reduced; the internal quantum efficiency of a 1.00eV cell is improved at the same time; and then the cell efficiency is improved.

A sintered magnet according to the present invention is a sintered magnet configured from a magnetic powder grain having Nd2Fe14B as a main component, in which: fluorine, a heavy rare earth element, oxygen, and carbon are segregated in part of grain-boundary regions of said sintered magnetic powder grain; concentration of the carbon is higher than concentration of the fluorine at a grain-boundary triple junction of the grain-boundary region; and concentration of the heavy rare earth element decreases from said grain-boundary triple junction toward an inside of said magnetic powder grain.

The invention discloses a method for manufacturing quadri-junction GaInP / GaAs / InGaAs / Ge solar cells. In the method, by adopting a wafer bonding method, triple-junction GaInP / GaAs / InGaA solar cells based on inverted structural growth are integrated with a Ge solar cell uniwafer; and a Ge cell is fully utilized to serve as the basic cell of the four cells and a supporting substrate, thus achieving quadri-junction solar cells with the band-gap energy of 1.9 / 1.4 / 1.0 / 0.67eV, realizing absorption and energy conversion of a solar full-spectrum to a larger extent and obtaining the conversion efficiency above 45%. The method lowers high cost caused by a plurality of different substrates adopted in a mechanical cascade solar cell system as well as complicated optical system and optical loss in an optical integrated battery; and meanwhile the method effectively solves the problem of lattice mismatch of a growth uniwafer quadri-junction cascade semiconductor solar cell material, achieves high voltage and low current output, and lowers resistance consumption in the high-power concentrator cell.

An electron emitter includes an emitter section having a plate shape, a cathode electrode formed on a front surface of the emitter section, and an anode electrode formed on a back surface of the emitter section. A gap is formed between an outer peripheral portion of the cathode electrode and the front surface of the emitter section. The front surface of the emitter section contacts a lower surface of the outer peripheral portion to form a base end as a triple junction. The gap expands from the base end toward a tip end of the outer peripheral portion.

A light-emitting device is provided that is excellent in light emission efficiency and stability. The light-emitting device has a first part of a first dielectric constant, a second part of a second dielectric constant and a third part of a third dielectric constant, and has a triple junction where they are in contact with one another. Moreover, a first and a second electrode are provided for applying a voltage for controlling an electric field at the triple junction and in the vicinity thereof. Further, at least one of the first, the second and the third parts is a constituted by light-emitting material, and the triple junction forms a closed line.

The present invention discloses a process and apparatus for removing sodium and chloride ions from an aqueous sodium chloride solution, such as seawater or brine. The process includes electrolyzing aqueous sodium chloride to remove chloride and sodium ions in the form of chlorine gas and sodium metal. Preferably, a photovoltaic device, such as a triple junction amorphous silicon solar cell, provides the electrical energy for the electrolysis. The process utilizes electrode material that facilitates the production of chlorine gas and inhibits the evolution of hydrogen from the aqueous sodium chloride solution. The sodium is deposited onto a metal surface having a high hydrogen overpotential to produce sodium amalgam. The processed solution from the electrolysis has a reduced sodium chloride content and may be further processed to produce fresh water for human consumption or agricultural purposes. The sodium amalgam is removed from the aqueous sodium chloride solution and transported to and coupled against an air depolarizing fuel cell in water to produce electrical power with the sodium air fuel cell, power that may be used to operate the apparatus or other machinery. The product of the reaction between the sodium amalgam and the fuel cell is sodium hydroxide that may be reacted with the chlorine gas to produce sodium hypochlorite.

A field emission electron source includes a substrate, a first conductive electrode terminated to provide electrons, an emitting composite layer for emitting electrons, and a second electrode insulated from the emitter layer and terminated to extract electrons through vacuum space. The emitting composite layer lies between and parallel to the said first and the second electrodes, and comprises nano-structures embedded in a solid matrix. One end of the nano-structures is truncated and exposed at the surface of the emitter layer so that both the length and the apex of the nano-structure are regulated and the exposed nano-tips are kept substantially the same distance from the gate electrode. The embedding material is chosen to form triple junctions with the exposed tip to further enhance the field.

Solar concentrator devices and techniques for the fabrication thereof are provided. In one aspect, a solar concentrator device is provided. The solar concentrator device comprises at least one solar converter cell; a heat sink; and a liquid metal between the solar converter cell and the heat sink, configured to thermally couple the solar converter cell and the heat sink during operation of the device. The solar converter cell can comprise a triple-junction semiconductor solar converter cell fabricated on a germanium (Ge) substrate. The heat sink can comprise a vapor chamber heat sink. The liquid metal can comprise a gallium (Ga) alloy and have a thermal resistance of less than or equal to about five square millimeter degree Celsius per Watt (mm2° C. / W).

An electron emitter includes an emitter section having a plate shape, a cathode electrode formed on a front surface of the emitter section, and an anode electrode formed on a back surface of the emitter section. A gap is formed between an outer peripheral portion of the cathode electrode and the front surface of the emitter section. The front surface of the emitter section contacts a lower surface of the outer peripheral portion to form a base end as a triple junction. The gap expands from the base end toward a tip end of the outer peripheral portion.

A near infrared (NIR) wideband reflector coating designed to start reflecting solar energy wavelengths from at least 1.2 microns in a typical geosynchronous earth orbit or medium earth orbit satellite and from at least 1.3 microns in a typical low earth orbit satellite. Also, the (NIR) wideband reflector coating reflects solar energy wavelengths below 0.35 microns in all three applications. This invention works on triple junction (TJ) solar cells. The performance of at least 1.2-microns is on solar panels with near-normal incident solar angle, typical of Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites. The performance of at least 1.3-microns is on solar panels with wide range of incident solar angles, a design requirement for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.

Disclosed are an R—Fe—B sintered magnet and a method for producing the same. More specifically, provided is an R—Fe—B (R=Nd, Dy, Pr, Tb, Ho, La, Ce, Sm, Gd, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu or Th) sintered magnet having a structure in which R2Fe14B crystal grains as major phases are surrounded with R-rich phases, wherein a dihedral angle between two adjacent R2Fe14B crystal grains and the R-rich phase contacting the R2Fe14B crystal grains is 70° or less in a triple junction formed by the R2Fe14B crystal grains. The sintered magnet maintains a high coercive force and exhibits improved mechanical properties and is thus applicable to motors or permanent magnets used at high temperatures.

The invention discloses a photonic crystal back reflector provided with an adjustable forbidden band and applied to a silicon-based thin-film solar cell. The photonic crystal back reflector is composed of low-refraction-index media and high-refraction-index media which are overlapped in a periodic mode. Through adjustment of the thickness of a period, an average reflectivity of 96% can be obtained in a wave band of 500-750mm, an average reflectivity of 99% can be obtained in a wave band of 650-1100nm, and an average reflectivity of 99% can be obtained in a wave band of 700-1200nm. The photonic crystal back reflector is suitable for serving as a back reflector of a unijunction amorphous silicon thin film solar cell, a back reflector of a double-junction amorphous silicon / microcrystalline silicon laminated solar cell and a back reflector of a triple-junction amorphous silicon / amorphous silicon germanium / amorphous silicon laminated solar cell. The photonic crystal back reflector provided with the adjustable forbidden band and applied to the silicon-based thin-film solar cell has the advantages that due to the fact that a photonic crystal is used as the back reflector of the silicon-based thin-film solar cell, the problems that an Ag back reflector is high in cost and other metal back reflectors are low in reflectivity are solved, high efficiency and decrease of the cost of raw materials are guaranteed, improvement of the open-circuit voltage of the cell is facilitated, the stability of the cell is improved, the photonic crystal back reflector is compatible with the cell technology, reduction of equipment investment and the plant area is facilitated, and productivity is improved.

The invention relates to an inverted triple-junction InGaN solar cell. The inverted triple-junction InGaN solar cell comprises a substrate, an anode below the semi-transparent current expansion layer and a cathode below a first InGaN cell, wherein a GaN nucleating layer, a GaN buffering layer and a semi-transparent current expansion layer between a triple-junction InGaN cell and a tunnel junction are arranged below substrate in sequence; a cap layer is placed between the semi-transparent current expansion layer and a third InGaN cell; and the anode and the cathode are bonded on a carrier evaporated with a reflective layer through a metal convex point. According to the invention, solar spectrum is sufficiently absorbed by adopting the inverted triple-junction solar cell and a high-dosage layer after the InGaN material growing process as the cap layer, the metal convex point and the carrier; the external quantum efficiency exceeds 70%; the photoelectric conversion efficiency is increased, the service life of the cell is prolonged, the working stability of the cell is enhanced; and the cell can be directly used as a complete cell.

A method and a multijunction solar device having a high band gap heterojunction middle solar cell are disclosed. In one embodiment, a triple-junction solar device includes bottom, middle, and top cells. The bottom cell has a germanium (Ge) substrate and a buffer layer, wherein the buffer layer is disposed over the Ge substrate. The middle cell contains a heterojunction structure, which further includes an emitter layer and a base layer that are disposed over the bottom cell. The top cell contains an emitter layer and a base layer disposed over the middle cell.

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a double-faced epitaxial growth GaAs triple-junction solar cell. The method includes sequentially forming a GaAs buffer layer, an In<x>(Al<y>Ga<1-y>)<1-x>As gradient layer and a first-junction In<x>Ga<1-x>As cell on one face of a GaAs substrate in an epitaxial growth manner; and sequentially forming a GaAs buffer layer, a first tunnel junction, a second-junction GaAs cell, a second tunnel junction, a third-junction GaInP cell and a GaAs cap layer on the other face of the GaAs substrate in an epitaxial growth manner. The GaAs substrate is turned over to be subjected to double-faced epitaxial growth, so that influence of dislocation due to isolation lattice mismatch to the first-junction cell and the second-junction cell which are grown on the back face of the substrate is avoided, the photovoltaic conversion efficiency of the cell is improved, the stable performance of the cell is guaranteed, a process for manufacturing cell is simplified, the manufacturing cost of the cell is lowered, the cell production efficiency is improved, and mass production is easy to implement.

The invention relates to a high-concentration photovoltaic power generation heating supply system. The heating supply system comprises a water tank, a water pump and a high-concentration photovoltaic photo-thermal mechanism; the high-concentration photovoltaic photo-thermal mechanism comprises at least one group of photovoltaic photo-thermal components; each group of the photovoltaic photo-thermal components comprise at least two serially-connected or shunt-wound photovoltaic photo-thermal mechanisms; each photovoltaic photo-thermal mechanism comprises a Fresnel lens and a photovoltaic receiving mechanism; the photovoltaic receiving mechanism comprises a secondary optical prism, a solar photovoltaic battery and water-cooling heat-exchanging members which are connected in sequence; a power generation mechanism is formed by the Fresnel lens, the secondary optical prism and the solar photovoltaic battery; a circulating water pipeline of the high-concentration photovoltaic photo-thermal mechanism is formed by the water-cooling heat-exchanging members in a series-wound or shunt-wound manner; and a circulating water heating supply loop is formed by the water tank, the water pump and the circulating water pipeline in a serial-wound manner. When a gallium arsenide triple junction battery is used as the photovoltaic battery of the system, the system can realize photoelectric conversion efficiency greater than 20% and photo-thermal conversion efficiency of 55% at the seam time, and the highest solar energy utilization rate of the system can reach greater than 75%.