Thin Film Intelligence Brief 16

University of Illinois Professor Xiuling Li has led a group of researchers to develop a method for growing semiconductor nanowires on silicon wafers that holds promise for advanced device applications, including solar cells. The team published its results in the journal Nano Letters.

Semiconductors in the III-V (pronounced three-five) group are promising for devices that change light to electricity and vice-versa, such as high-end solar cells or lasers.

“The biggest challenge has been that III-V semiconductors and silicon do not have the same lattice constants,” Li said. “They cannot be stacked on top of each other in a straightforward way without generating dislocations, which can be thought of as atomic scale cracks.”

Instead of a thin film, the Illinois team grew a densely packed array of nanowires, tiny strands of III-V semiconductor that grow up vertically from the silicon wafer.

The Lasers and Material processing division of Jenoptik has secured its first contracts for laser processing systems, which are used to make energy saving glass, also known as smart windows.

The company will provide the laser processing systems to US-American plants for manufacturing modern glass. According to the company, this new application was a major reason for a large number of orders for 2011.

US-based Ascent Solar Technologies has reported that its  flexible CIGS solar panels were named one of TIME's 50 Best Inventions of 2011. Ascent's technology was one of six ‘green' inventions to be recognized in this year's list, featured in the Nov. 28 TIME issue.

For each of the past 10 years, TIME has recognized the top 50 breakthroughs in science, technology and the arts. Previous honorees have included the iPad, Nissan Leaf, 3-D cameras, and the world's first synthetic cells.

TIME refers to Ascent's solar panels as "ingenious" for their ability to be directly integrated with building materials without the limitations of standard, glass solar panels.

California-based crystaline solar panel maker Solaria has raised $30m, according to SEC filings, it was reported on Venture Beat. Previous Solaria investors include Sigma Partners and Moserbaer India. The company raised $65m in a Series D in September of 2010. VentureBeat contacted Solaria for a comment on the funding announcement. However, no one was available for comment at the time of going to press.

In October the company launched a new 270 Watt solar module designed and optimized for industrial and utility-scale tracking applications.