New World Record In Solar Cell Efficiency Achieved Using A Veeco MOCVD System

SOLAR DAILY

Schematics of our MOCVD set-up

by Staff Writers
Woodbury NY (SPX) Feb 05, 2007
Veeco Instruments has announced that its Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) technology enabled an important recent advancement in solar cell efficiency. On December 5, 2006, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that Spectrolab has achieved a world record concentrator solar cell conversion efficiency of 40.7 percent.

This solar cell conversion efficiency was achieved using a Veeco TurboDisc As/P MOCVD System, which deposits epitaxial films. Spectrolab, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company.

The 40.7 percent efficient cell was developed using a multi-junction solar cell structure. This type of cell achieves a higher efficiency than single junction cells by capturing more of the solar spectrum and utilizing it more efficiently. The solar cells are manufactured in a single epitaxial growth process, which requires excellent control and repeatability from the MOCVD system.

"Veeco congratulates Spectrolab on its record efficiency. We look forward to teaming with Spectrolab for continued solar cell efficiency improvements," commented Piero Sferlazzo, Vice President, General Manager of Veeco's MOCVD Operations.

According to the DOE, attaining a 40 percent efficient concentrating solar cell means having another technology pathway for producing cost-effective solar electricity. This breakthrough may lead to solar systems with an installation cost of only $3 per watt, or less, producing electricity at a cost of 8-10 cents per kilowatt/hour, making solar electricity a more cost-competitive and integral part of our nation's energy mix.

Almost all of today's solar cell modules do not concentrate sunlight but use only what the sun produces naturally, what researchers call "one sun insolation," which achieves an efficiency of 12 to 18 percent. However, by using an optical concentrator, sunlight intensity can be increased, producing more electricity from a single solar cell.

Engineered for the high-volume production of compound semiconductor materials, Veeco's TurboDisc As/P tools are quickly being adopted by the industry as the "tool of choice" for high volume production of devices such as solar cells, red, orange and yellow HB-LEDs, laser diodes, pHEMTs and HBTs.

The system offers a level of process control and reliability unmatched by competing MOCVD technologies. With integrated RealTemp 200 technology for direct wafer temperature control and fast gas switching for strict control of interface abruptness, these technically advanced systems provide superior material quality and process efficiency.

Solar America Initiative: Reaching 40 percent efficiency helps further President Bush's Solar America Initiative (SAI) goals, which aims to win nationwide acceptance of clean solar energy technologies by 2015. By then, it is intended that America will have enough solar energy systems installed to provide power to one to two million homes, at a cost of 5 to 10 cents per kilowatt/hour.

The SAI is also a key component of President Bush's Advanced Energy Initiative, which provides a 22 percent increase in research and development funding at DOE and seeks to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil by changing the way we power our cars, homes and businesses. For more information, visit the SAI website at: .

Solar America Initiative
Veeco

SOLAR DAILY

Napa Winery Installs 170 kW Solar Energy Power Station

San Rafael CA (SPX) Jan 26, 2007
SPG Solar has commissioned Phase II of the 170 kilowatt commercial photovoltaic (solar energy) system for the Grgich Hills winery in Napa Valley, California. Together Phase I, completed in 2005, and Phase II of the Grgich Hills PV installation will produce 170.08 kilowatts DC of electricity during peak production hours. With the completion of Phase II, the PV system is expected to meet 100% of the winery's actual energy needs.

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