Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100170563 | Method and Apparatus for Light Absorption and Charged Carrier Transport - Embodiments of the invention pertain to the use of alloyed semiconductor nanocrystals for use in solar cells. The use of alloyed semiconductor nanocrystals offers materials that have a flexible stoichiometry. The alloyed semiconductor may be a ternary semiconductor alloy, such as A | 07-08-2010 |
20100181901 | INKJET PRINTING OF MICROLENSES FOR PHOTONIC APPLICATIONS - The preparation of microlenses on a substrate and light emitting devices employing microlenses on the surface from which light is emitted is described. The miscrolenses are formed on a surface that has been coated to have functionality that promotes a sufficiently large contact angle of the microlense on the surface and contains functionality for bonding the microlense to the coating. The microlenses are formed on the coating by deposition of a microlense precursor resin as a microdrop by inkjet printing and copolymerizing the resin with the bonding functionality in the coating. The coating can be formed from a mixture of silane coupling agents that contain functionality in some of the coupling agents that is copolymeriable with the resin such that the microlens can be formed and bonded to the surface by photopolymerization. | 07-22-2010 |
20100201256 | Top-Emission Organic Light-Emitting Devices with Microlens Arrays - Embodiments of the invention can provide organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) with enhanced outcoupling efficiency. Specific embodiments can enhance the outcoupling efficiency by more than four times. Embodiments of the invention incorporate microlens | 08-12-2010 |
20110023934 | SOLARTURF: SOLAR ENERGY HARVESTING ARTIFICIAL TURF - A SolarTurf unit has a plurality of solar blades, each blade comprising a donor-acceptor conjugated polymer (DA-CP) disposed between and electrically contacting a working electrode and a counter electrode where at least one of electrodes is transparent and where the plurality of solar blades have like or different DA-CPs having like color or different colors, for example, green. The SolarTurf unit includes an interconnect strip having a first electrically conductive surface and a second electrically conductive surface separated by an insulator. The working electrodes are electrically connected to the first electrically conductive surface and the counter electrodes are electrically connected to the second electrically conductive surface. The SolarTurf units can be combined into a device for harvesting light energy to provide an electric output. The SolarTurf device can have the appearance of a lawn or other plant, fungi, rock, sand or animal. | 02-03-2011 |
20120000526 | AIR STABLE ORGANIC-INORGANIC NANOPARTICLES HYBRID SOLAR CELLS - A solar cell includes a low work function cathode, an active layer of an organic-inorganic nanoparticle composite, a ZnO nanoparticle layer situated between and physically contacting the cathode and active layers; and a transparent high work function anode that is a bilayer electrode. The inclusion of the ZnO nanoparticle layer results in a solar cell displaying a conversion efficiency increase and reduces the device degradation rate. Embodiments of the invention are directed to novel ZnO nanoparticles that are advantageous for use as the ZnO nanoparticle layers of the novel solar cells and a method to prepare the ZnO nanoparticles. | 01-05-2012 |
20120120643 | SOLAR-POWERED LIGHTING MODULE - A solar-powered lighting module is provided, including a solar cell for generating electricity when exposed to light, a battery for storing charge from the generated electricity, and a light generating device powered by the stored charge. In an embodiment, the module further includes a controller that regulates the current transmitted between the components of the module. In a further embodiment, the module is incorporated into an interface to an environmentally controlled space and can be positioned to light an interior portion of the space. In another embodiment, the solar cell and light generating device are transparent to allow light to pass through the interface. In a further embodiment, tinted-color conjugated polymers incorporated into the module limit the spectrum of light that can pass through the interface. In yet another embodiment, a method of modifying an existing interface with such a module is provided. | 05-17-2012 |
20120138894 | STABLE AND ALL SOLUTION PROCESSABLE QUANTUM DOT LIGHT-EMITTING DIODES - Embodiments of the invention are directed to quantum dot light emitting diodes (QD-LEDs) where the electron injection and transport layer comprises inorganic nanoparticles (I-NPs). The use of I-NPs results in an improved QD-LED over those having a conventional organic based electron injection and transport layer and does not require chemical reaction to form the inorganic layer. In one embodiment of the invention the hole injection and transport layer can be metal oxide nanoparticles (MO-NPs) which allows the entire device to have the stability of an all inorganic system and permit formation of the QD-LED by a series of relatively inexpensive steps involving deposition of suspensions of nanoparticles and removing the suspending vehicle. | 06-07-2012 |
20130087200 | ENHANCED THIN FILM SOLAR CELL PERFORMANCE USING TEXTURED REAR REFLECTORS - Back reflector arrays are applied to the surface distal to the incident light receiving surface of a thin film solar cell to increase its efficiency by altering the reflected light path and thereby increasing the path length of light through the active layer of the solar cell. The back reflector is an array of features of micrometer proportions. The feature may be concave or convex features such as hemispheres, hemi-ellipsoids, partial-spheres, partial-ellipsoids, or combinations thereof The feature may be pyramidal. A method of forming the back reflector array is by forming an array of features from a photocurable resin, subsequent curing the resin and metalizing the cured resin to render the surface reflective. The photocurable resin can be applied by inkjet printing or rolling or stamping with a mold. | 04-11-2013 |
20130092229 | THIN FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES WITH MICROLENS ARRAYS - Textured transparent layers are formed on the incident light receiving surface of thin film solar cells to increase their efficiency by altering the incident light path and capturing a portion of the light reflected at the MLA. The textured transparent layer is an array of lenses of micrometer proportions such as hemispheres, hemi-ellipsoids, partial-spheres, partial-ellipsoids, cones, pyramids, prisms, half cylinders, or combinations thereof. A method of forming the textured transparent layer to the light incident surface of the solar cell is by forming an array of lenses from a photocurable resin and its subsequent curing. The photocurable resin can be applied by inkjet printing or can be applied by roll to roll imprinting or stamping with a mold. | 04-18-2013 |
20140053898 | HIGH EFFICIENCY ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS EMPLOYING HYBRIDIZED MIXED-PLANAR HETEROJUNCTIONS - A device is provided, having a first electrode, a second electrode, and a photoactive region disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode. The photoactive region includes a first photoactive organic layer that is a mixture of an organic acceptor material and an organic donor material, wherein the first photoactive organic layer has a thickness not greater than 0.8 characteristic charge transport lengths; a second photoactive organic layer in direct contact with the first organic layer, wherein the second photoactive organic layer is an unmixed layer of the organic acceptor material of the first photoactive organic layer, and the second photoactive organic layer has a thickness not less than about 0.1 optical absorption lengths; and a third photoactive organic layer disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode and in direct contact with the first photoactive organic layer. The third photoactive organic layer is an unmixed layer of the organic donor layer of the first photoactive organic layer and has a thickness not less than about 0.1 optical absorption lengths. | 02-27-2014 |
20140345682 | MODULAR SUPRAMOLECULAR ACTIVE LAYER AND ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES - A photoactive layer for an organic photovoltaic device has a supramolecular assembly of donors or acceptors formed from a plurality of units that are mixed with electron acceptors or electron donors, respectively, to form an ordered or semi-ordered bulk heterojunction structure. Each unit is formed from a plurality of sub-units that are combined and ordered by hydrogen bonding or other non-covalent interactions to form units that by π-stacking and, optionally, other forces are organized into the supramolecular assembly. Each sub-unit includes at least one electron donor or acceptor moiety, at least one non-covalent interacting moiety, and a linking moiety between the non-covalent interacting moiety and the electron donor or electron acceptor moiety of the sub-unit. The organized supramolecular assembly connects donors or acceptors through the thickness of the photoactive layer, and allows parallel continuous electron acceptor or electron donor phases through the thickness of the active layer. | 11-27-2014 |