New nanosilicon photovoltaic solar cell technology could adapt home and office glass windows into ones capable of generating electricity from sunlight without losing significant transparency or requiring major changes in manufacturing infrastructure.
Octillion Corp. has announced that it has entered into a Sponsored Research Agreement with scientists at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign for the development of a new patent-pending technology using nanosilicon photovoltaic solar cells that could convert normal home and office glass windows into ones capable of converting solar energy into electricity. Limited loss of transparency and minimal changes in manufacturing infrastructure are among the advantages envisioned for this new technology.
The technological potential of adapting existing glass windows into ones capable of generating electricity from the sun’s solar energy has been made possible through a ground breaking discovery of an electrochemical and ultrasound process that produces identically sized (1 to 4 nanometers in diameter) highly luminescent nanoparticles of silicon that provide varying wavelengths of photoluminescence with high quantum down conversion efficiency of short wavelengths (50% to 60%).
When thin films of silicon nanoparticles are deposited (sprayed) onto silicon substrates, ultraviolet light is absorbed and converted into electrical current. With appropriate connections, the film acts as nanosilicon photovoltaic solar cells that convert solar radiation to electrical energy.