IBM claims major boost in solar cell efficiency

M.D. Holloway · 06-04-2008, 08:03 AM

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IBM claims major boost in solar cell efficiency
John Walko
EE Times Europe
(05/16/2008 10:57 AM EDT)

LONDON — IBM has managed to squeeze 230W of power on to a centimeter square of solar panel using concentrator photovoltaics. The energy was then converted to 70W of usable electric power, the best power efficiency yet achieved, the company claims.
The IBM researchers used a very thin layer of a liquid metal made of a gallium and indium compound that they applied between the chip and a cooling block. Such layers, called thermal interface layers, transfer the heat from the chip to the cooling block so that the chip temperature can be kept really low.

They suggest that if the silicon can be cooled effectively, concentrated photovoltaics could take over as the cheapest form of solar energy.

However, IBM admits there is much work to be done to move the research project from the lab to the fab.

By using a much lower number of photovoltaic cells in a solar farm and concentrating more light on to each cell using larger lenses, IBM's system enables a significant cost advantage in terms of a lesser number of total components.

The researchers said that the concentration increases the power of the sun's rays by a factor of ten, allowing cells that normally generate 20W of power to generate 200W instead.

Their initial results were presented at this week's 33rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists conference , where the researchers showed how their liquid metal cooling interface is able to transfer heat from the solar cell to a copper cooling plate much more efficiently than anything else available today.

"We believe IBM can bring unique skills from our vast experience in semiconductors and nanotechnology to the important field of alternative energy research," said Dr. Supratik Guha, the scientist leading photovoltaics activities at IBM Research. "This is one of many exploratory research projects incubating in our labs where we can drive big change for an entire industry while advancing the basic underlying science of solar cell technology."

The researchers developed a system that achieved the "breakthrough" results by coupling a commercial solar cell to an IBM liquid metal thermal cooling system using methods developed for the semiconductor industry.

IBM adds that concentrator-based photovoltaics technologies have the potential to offer the lowest-cost solar electricity for large-scale power generation, "provided the temperature of the cells can be kept low, and cheap and efficient optics can be developed for concentrating the light to very high levels."

IBM is not planning to make solar cells itself, but expects to license the technology, and potentially its lens technology as well, to solar equipment manufacturers.

The company is also developing nanotechnology structures, involving nanowires and quantum dot semiconductors, to make photovoltaic cells more efficient.

Someday a Traga roof replacement?

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

Why is nobody looking at the biochemical mechanisms used by plants (photosynthesis)? Plants are pretty damn efficient at converting solar energy into chemical energy and have had billions of years to refine the process. I imagine it's going to be difficult to get more efficient than that.

Jim Richards · 06-04-2008, 08:06 AM

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Someday a Traga roof replacement?

Or for a true "sun" roof.

kang · 06-04-2008, 08:19 AM

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Originally Posted by LubeMaster77

Someday a Traga roof replacement?

You’re not far off with that comment. People have already made solar powered cars, as I’m sure you’re aware. Increase the efficiency of the panels and get some better batteries for those cloudy days, and you’re there.

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/jpl/news/solarcar-070805.html

M.D. Holloway · 06-04-2008, 08:32 AM

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Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Why is nobody looking at the biochemical mechanisms used by plants (photosynthesis)? Plants are pretty damn efficient at converting solar energy into chemical energy and have had billions of years to refine the process. I imagine it's going to be difficult to get more efficient than that.

True for regulating a metobolism incluing energy required for diffusion and osmosis but to convert it to current is a whole other issue - they are efficiant for the chemisrty but the sort of energy balence required (photon energy in, electron energy out) is beyound what a plant photosynthsis can do. If it could, a great deffensive mechansim would have been an electric shock similar to that of an electric eel.

Hawktel · 06-04-2008, 09:06 AM

I think that someday soon you will see solor powered cars. They will not look like those clumsy knockabouts in in the picture above, but will look like a normal colored car, perhaps using that paint on solar cell tech people are developing, with perhaps IBM's cooling thingamajig.

onewhippedpuppy · 06-04-2008, 09:30 AM

For this you can thank.......high oil prices. $4/gal is a b!tch, but everyone is rushing to develop alternative energy solutions. The next 5 years should prove to be very exciting.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

It's what I've always said - necessity is the mother of invention. We could've done this stuff in 1980, but thank Ronnie Raygun and his successor for destroying any interest and backing for serious alternative energy research/policy in the U.S. It was more important to build a *****load of nuclear bombs I guess (and run up the biggest deficit in history to do it, which our great, great, great-grand kids will be paying for). Don't even get me started.

onewhippedpuppy · 06-04-2008, 09:46 AM

Hey now, let's not go pointing the finger in only one direction. There's many people to blame for our lack of energy independence. Who consistently blocks the construction of nuclear powerplants?

frogger · 06-04-2008, 09:55 AM

the oil industry?

Aurel · Aurel's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Why is nobody looking at the biochemical mechanisms used by plants (photosynthesis)? Plants are pretty damn efficient at converting solar energy into chemical energy and have had billions of years to refine the process. I imagine it's going to be difficult to get more efficient than that.

People are. The dye sensitzed solar cell is one good example. As for the IBM discovery, it is a nice concept to cool better the concentrator solar cell, but higher efficiency is only one part of the equation. Multilayer solar cells as they use to get beyond 40% efficiency are absolutely the most expensive to make. And the efficiency I calculate with this IBM cells is 70W/230W= 30%, not so high at all. 40% has been achieved already.

Aurel