I-Corps: Decorative power generation panels and related optoelectronics systems

目前大多数太阳能电池板都是用昂贵的材料通过复杂的工艺制成的。更低的成本和更高的效率推动了产品决策，结果是大多数面板都是刚性的，沉重的，并且具有暗淡的黑色外观。由于它们的非建筑美学外观和重量，它们主要安装在屋顶上，以尽量减少负面的建筑外观，并且建筑物的大表面积不用于潜在的发电。该团队建议开发一种基于低成本材料和制造工艺的新型混合太阳能电池技术；最重要的是，它们提供了吸引人的视觉效果，例如，面板可以设计成反射或传输理想的颜色，或显示彩色图像。它们也可以是半透明的，结构上可以灵活，既可以是永久的特定形状，也可以薄到可以在许多多个事件中卷起和展开。当今世界对能够显著提高能源效率的技术有很高的需求。该团队希望通过提供一种部署光伏发电的新思路，多功能光伏技术将对社区产生重大的变革性价值。新技术可应用于既有和新建高层商业建筑或住宅。透射型彩色或半透明板可作为发电窗或遮阳板，反射型彩色板可用于具有特定设计的室外建筑玻璃墙或室内彩色/显示型陈设，两者都可以利用光谱的吸收部分提供电能。另一个潜在的应用是温室，利用玻璃上的技术吸收绿光用于发电，同时通过叶绿素吸收蓝光和红光以供植物生长。基于这种混合结构制成的视频速率大幅面光电探测器阵列在医学成像方面也具有潜在的应用前景。

Most current solar cell panels are made by complex processes using expensive materials. Lower costs and higher efficiencies have driven product decisions and the result is most panels are rigid, heavy, and with a dull, black appearance. As a result of their non-architectural aesthetic appearance and weight, they are primarily installed on rooftops so as to minimize the negative building appearance, and large surface areas of the buildings are not utilized for potential power generation. The team proposes to develop a new hybrid solar cell technology that is based on low cost materials and manufacturing processes; most importantly, they offer appealing visual effects, e.g. the panels can be designed to reflect or transmit desirable colors, or display colored images. They can also be made semi-transparent and can be structurally flexible for either a permanent specific shape or thin enough to be rolled and unrolled for many multiple events. Technologies that can provide significantly improved energy efficiency are in high demand in our world today. The team hopes that the multi-functional PV technology will be of significant and transformative value to the community by providing a new way of thinking of deploying photovoltaics. The new technology can be applied to existing and new high-rise commercial buildings or residential houses. The transmissive type colored or semi-transparent panels can be used as power-generating windows or shades, and the reflective type colored panels for outdoor architectural glass walls with specific designs, or interior colored/display type furnishings, and both can provide electric energy by utilizing the absorbed portion of the light spectrum. Another potential application is for greenhouses using the technology on glass to absorb green light for electric power generation while passing through blue and red light to be absorbed by the Chlorophyll for plants' growth. The video rate large format photodetector array made based on the hybrid structure can also lead to potential application in medical imaging.