STTR Phase I: Radial Nanojunction Array Photovoltaic Materials

这个小型企业技术转移(STTR)第一阶段项目涉及开发一种以超高效率制造纳米结构光伏的新方法。利用光伏进行太阳能转换是一种重要的能源技术。然而，要充分实现太阳能的前景，仍必须在当前的技术水平上取得重大进展，如提高效率和降低每千瓦时的成本。Synkera将通过提出一种新的全无机光伏来满足这一需求。这些材料具有创新的3-D结构，将高表面积的纳米结阵列与连续分级的带隙相结合，以匹配太阳光谱。该架构基于重量轻、成本低的基板，采用可扩展工艺，有潜力实现高达60%的转换效率，提供高功率密度，并实现长期辐射和温度稳定性。拟议的方法将通过结合Synkera Technologies和科罗拉多大学博尔德分校的核心专业知识和能力来实施。第一阶段工作的目标是证明与传统光伏材料相比，拟议的体系结构可以实现更好的性能。从商业角度来看，拟议工作的预期结果是一种制造技术，用于商业上可行地生产具有超高效率和高能量密度的低成本光伏产品。封装在坚固陶瓷主体中的无机光伏材料将确保更大的辐射稳定性，以及卓越的热和机械可靠性。实现这些好处将在市场上提供显著的优势，并有机会在商业、政府和军事市场服务于地面太阳能市场，其中住宅能源发电主导市场份额。此外，所提出的材料的坚固性也使它们在不断增长的卫星市场中具有吸引力。这项新的制造技术将有助于创建一个强大的、具有全球竞争力的国内太阳能电池行业，从而有助于加强美国经济。它还将通过减少我们对不可再生能源供应的依赖来促进国家安全。

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project involves the development of a new method for fabrication of nanostructured photovoltaics with ultra-high efficiency. Solar energy conversion using photovoltaics (PVs) is an important energy technology. However, to fully realize solar energy's promise, a significant advance in the current state-of-the-art must still be obtained, such as increasing efficiency and lowering cost per kWh. Synkera will address this need by proposing a new class of fully inorganic photovoltaics. These materials feature innovative 3-D architecture, which combine high surface area arrays of nanojunctions with continuous grading of the band gap to match the solar spectrum. Based on lightweight and low-cost substrates and using scalable processes, this architecture has the potential to achieve conversion efficiencies up to 60%, provide high power density, and enable long-term radiation and temperature stability. The proposed approach will be implemented by combining core expertise and capabilities of Synkera Technologies and the University of Colorado at Boulder. The goal of the Phase I work is to demonstrate that the proposed architecture can enable better performance in comparison with conventional photovoltaic materials.Commercially, the expected result of the proposed work is a manufacturing technology for commercially viable production of low-cost photovoltaics with advanced performance, including ultra-high efficiency and high energy density. Inorganic photovoltaic materials encapsulated in a robust ceramic host will assure greater radiation stability, as well as superb thermal and mechanical reliability. Enabling these benefits will provide significant advantages in the marketplace and an opportunity to serve terrestrial solar energy markets in commercial, governmental and military markets, with the residential energy generation dominating the market share. Furthermore, robustness of proposedmaterials makes them also attractive for use in growing satellite market. This new manufacturing technology will contribute to strengthening the US economy by helping to create a robust and globally competitive domestic solar cell industry. It will also contribute to the Nation's security by reducing our dependence on non-renewable energy supplies.