Solar3D makes rapid progress on technology development

SANTA BARBARA, USA: Solar3D Inc., the developer of a breakthrough 3-dimensional solar cell technology to maximize the conversion of sunlight into electricity, announced that its technology development is ahead of schedule.

Inspired by light management techniques used in fiber optic devices, the company’s innovative solar cell technology utilizes a 3-dimensional design to trap sunlight inside micro-photovoltaic structures where photons bounce around until they are converted into electrons. Solar3D’s management believes that this breakthrough solar cell design will dramatically change the economics of solar energy.

Jim Nelson, CEO of Solar3D, said: “Our fast progress has pushed us past the primary design and simulation phase onto fabrication research and planning activities. Our team is spending more time in the lab and clean room preparing for the actual building of a prototype. We are quite excited about our breakthroughs and the speed of our progress.

Key elements of the progress include the following elements:

* Completed the design of the optical Light Collector element that funnels light into the light trapping 3D micro-photovoltaic element.
* The engineers are now close to completing the design of a complete prototype cell that will allow us to calculate the overall conversion efficiency.
* Orders are being placed for items required in the manufacturing process, such as etching masks and materials. We believe our design for manufacturability using existing high-speed semiconductor processes will be the key to the affordable mass production of Solar3D cells.

Nelson continued: “Our effort is focused on completing the prototype so that we can initiate conversations with a fabrication partner in the semiconductor business. We have made substantial preparation to begin those discussions. We are getting closer and closer to making our superefficient 3-dimensional silicon solar cell a reality.”