Innovalight’s “Cougar Process” of producing PV cells could raise the bar for solar cell efficiency and lower production costs for Innovalight’s new production partner, China-based JA Solar.  JA Solar is a leading manufacturer of solar cells that has begun research and development into using Innovalight’s patented process.

Innovalight has devised a method of producing high-efficiency cells by adding a step to the manufacturing process: an industrial inkjet printer.  Innovalight’s website states that the cost reduction comes from using silicon in its liquid form rather than traditional solid or gas forms, thus lowering overhead and equipment cost for manufacturers.

Skeptical of the efficiency rating?  The results have been recognized by the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the IEEE,  an “association for the advancement of technology” that has been around for 125 years.

So how does it work?

“You need to drop the resistivity under the metal and increase it between the metal contacts, a fundamental property of this high-efficiency cell,” said Homer Antoniadis, Innovalight CTO and VP of Engineering.  The lighter doping lowers recombination losses. Therefore, with fewer dopant atoms, surface recombination velocity is improved and more charges are generated at the surface of the cell.  “A standard cell has uniform doping throughout, which kills the photoresponse,” he noted.

Get that?  Neither did I, but after researching some, I learned that doping refers to the semiconductors that allow energy to flow through them.  Since semiconductors are not full-blown conductors, doping allows science to essentially alter how “semi” a semiconductor is.  And recombination? Try this Wikipedia article if you’re interested in the science of the cell.

On the tangible side, higher efficiency cells equal more energy per panel than ever before. And that means the dollars to watts ratio should go down, given some time.  The more each cell harvests, the more energy your system will sell back to the grid and deliver to your home.  I think we can all agree that would be a wonderful new stride for solar, whether we understand all the science or not.

JA solar plans initial commercialization of the Innovalight cell sometime in 2010.

For the full document by Homer Antoniadis, click here.

Photo Credit: Innovalight

Popularity: 2% [?]

Posted on October 9th in Solar Electric by Craig.