Making cheaper solar cells
OCT 20, 2010
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.024760
New York Times : A Massachusetts company, 1366 Technologies , has found a simpler and more economical way to produce solar panels. The current method of producing silicon wafers, the basic building block of solar cells, is to cast the silicon in huge ingots or grow it in giant crystals, then saw off thin pieces, which wastes about half the silicon. The new method developed by 1366 Technologies is to cast the wafers in their final form, six inches on one side and 200 microns thick, which could reduce the price of solar panels by 40%. The company, which had secured a Department of Energy grant to research the technique, has now raised $20 million to commercialize it. The name “1366 Technologies” is a reference to the amount of solar energy, measured in watts, that falls on a square meter of Earth’s surface.
© 2010 American Institute of Physics
