Photovoltaics from any semiconductor

[ScienceRocks]

Photovoltaics from any semiconductor
July 26, 2012

The SFPV technology was tested for two top electrode architectures: (A) the top electrode is shaped into narrow fingers; (B) top electrode is uniformly ultrathin. Image courtesy of Berkeley Lab

A technology that would enable low-cost, high efficiency solar cells to be made from virtually any semiconductor material has been developed by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley. This technology opens the door to the use of plentiful, relatively inexpensive semiconductors, such as the promising metal oxides, sulfides and phosphides, that have been considered unsuitable for solar cells because it is so difficult to taylor their properties by chemical means.

"It's time we put bad materials to good use," says physicist Alex Zettl, who led this research along with colleague Feng Wang. "Our technology allows us to sidestep the difficulty in chemically tailoring many earth abundant, non-toxic semiconductors and instead tailor these materials simply by applying an electric field."

Zettl, who holds joint appointments with Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division and UC Berkeley's Physics Department where he directs the Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems (COINS), is the corresponding author of a paper describing this work in the journal Nano Letters. The paper is titled "Screening-

Engineered Field-Effect Solar Cells." Co-authoring it were William Regan, Steven Byrnes, Will Gannett, Onur Ergen, Oscar Vazquez-Mena and Feng Wang.

Solar cells convert sunlight into electricity using semiconductor materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect – meaning they absorb photons and release electrons that can be channeled into an electrical current. Photovoltaics are the ultimate source of clean, green and renewable energy but today's technologies utilize relatively scarce and expensive semiconductors, such as large crystals of silicon, or thin films of cadmium telluride or copper indium gallium selenide, that are tricky or expensive to fabricate into devices.

"Solar technologies today face a cost-to-efficiency trade-off that has slowed widespread implementation," Zettl says. "Our technology reduces the cost and complexity of fabricating solar cells and thereby provides what could be an important cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative that would accelerate the usage of solar energy."

Photovoltaics from any semiconductor

cool

 

[Old Rocks]

Excellent catch. If this could reduce the present bottom end price of solar panels, already just over $1 a watt, to one quarter of that, solar will really take off. Already, solar is increasing very rapid rates.

 

[lectricgenius]

Their are a lot of advances being made in the field of photoelectrics, this is but one. I have written about these advances on my blog a lot.

 

[waltky]

Land for big ol' solar park set aside...

Administration Sets Aside Space Larger Than Rocky Mountain National Park for Solar Power Projects
October 16, 2012 – The Obama administration announced last week that it is setting aside 285,000 acres of public lands to be used for “commercial-scale solar development” – a total acreage amount that surpasses Rocky Mountain National Park, with 265,461 acres owned by the federal government.

“As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to expand domestic energy production, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today finalized a program for spurring development of solar energy on public lands in six western states,” the Department of Interior press release on the new project states. “The Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for solar energy development provides a blueprint for utility-scale solar energy permitting in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah by establishing solar energy zones with access to existing or planned transmission, incentives for development within those zones, and a process through which to consider additional zones and solar projects,” the press release states.

A fact sheet accompanying the press release states that the project will include “economic incentives” for development of solar power in the 17 “energy zones.” The fact sheet does not provide details about those incentives but labels them “strong incentives.” The fact sheet also states that the project “sets a clear process that allows for development of well-sited projects on approximately 19 million acres outside the zones,” and that the environment of public lands is being protected by designating 78.6 million acres off-limits for solar development.

The agency said the project’s announcement signifies that “the President’s goal of authorizing 10,000 megawatts of renewable power on public lands” has been achieved. “Energy from sources like wind and solar have doubled since the president took office, and with today’s milestone, we are laying a sustainable foundation to keep expanding our nation’s domestic energy resources,” Salazar said at an event to announce the project in Las Vegas on Oct. 12. “This historic initiative provides a roadmap for landscape-level planning that will lead to faster, smarter utility-scale solar development on public lands and reflects President Obama’s commitment to grow American made energy and create jobs,” Salazar added.

Source

 

[waltky]

TSMC not `fraid of China...

Semiconductor sector to grow again: TSMC
Fri, Dec 04, 2015 - CUTTING EDGE: The company expects double-digit growth in its annual revenue this year, thanks to the advances it has made in the 16-nanometer chip technology

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it expects the overall semiconductor industry to return to growth next year after a prolonged period of inventory correction. TSMC said that is a positive sign for the industry, which might head for a recovery next quarter. “Inventory correction in the industry would be mostly finished by the end of this year,” TSMC co-chief executive officer Mark Liu said in a keynote speech during the company’s annual Supply Chain Management Forum in Hsinchu. “When we enter next year with a healthy level of inventory, we expect the semiconductor industry to return to growth trajectory,” Liu said.

MediaTek chips are seen on a development board, which is used to help brew vinegar, at the MediaTek booth during the 2015 Computex exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan​

Two months ago, Liu said he was not sure about the inventory correction issue and told investors that some uncertainties remained for the industry this quarter. In October, TSMC cut its forecast for the world semiconductor industry’s revenue growth to zero this year from its previously estimated annual expansion of 3 percent. The company is expected to outstrip the overall semiconductor industry next year, thanks to a market share gain from the 16-nanometer (nm) technology, Liu said, adding that the new technology would help the chipmaker continue to grow its annual revenue next year. This year, TSMC is likely to grow its revenue by double digits from last year’s NT$762.81 billion (US$23.16 billion), partly because of the New Taiwan dollar’s depreciation against the US dollar and the company’s advances in technology, Liu said.

TSMC started mass producing 16nm chips in the third quarter and expects to launch a compact version of 16nm chips, mostly for low-end smartphones, in the second quarter of next year and start producing 10nm chips from the fourth quarter of next year, he said. The company plans to start construction of a new production line in February at its Taichung factory, which is expected to produce 10nm chips to be used in various applications such as mobile phones, he said. In its effort to push for more advanced technologies, TSMC is scheduled to start early production of 7nm chips in the first quarter of 2017 and is preparing to develop 5nm technology, Liu said.

Semiconductor sector to grow again: TSMC - Taipei Times

See also:

China chips away at U.S., Taiwan semiconductor dominance
8 Dedc.`15 - China's multi-billion dollar drive towards self-reliance in semiconductors has spawned a cluster of chip designers that industry experts say could eventually rival leaders Qualcomm Inc and MediaTek Inc.

The world's second-largest economy now boasts nine companies that design and sell chips in the global top 50 from just one in 2009. Clients such as Chinese smartphone manufacturers have also helped compatriot chip designers amass a market share of almost a fifth, according to data analyst TrendForce.

MediaTek chips are seen on a development board, which is used to help brew vinegar, at the MediaTek booth during the 2015 Computex exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan​

The rise of Chinese designers such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] subsidiary HiSilicon and Spreadtrum Communications comes as the government ploughs funds into home-grown technology to reduce cyber-security risk, following revelations in 2013 of U.S. global cyber-snooping programs.

The revelations have made China a harder place for U.S. tech firms to do business, with Qualcomm saying as recently as last month that it faced delays closing licensing agreements. In contrast, sales at Chinese designers are set to surge this year, some by as much as 40 percent, said researcher IC Insights. "The Chinese fabless industry is expanding by leaps and bounds," said Bernstein analyst Mark Li, referring to designers which contract out fabrication to so-called foundries such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC).

A 12-inch wafer is seen at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) in Hsinchu in this June 15, 2010 file photo. China's unabashed interest in foreign chipmakers in an already record year of deals has been quickly read by rivals as a sign that mergers and acquisitions (M&As) will get more competitive and target companies will get more expensive.​

Chinese chip designers lag top rivals in terms of technology by four to five years yet have the potential to disrupt the global chip supply chain, industry experts and executives said. But in terms of size, China is likely to seize second place in the $20 billion-plus chip design industry from Taiwan this year, Li said.

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[Old Rocks]

Excellent catch. If this could reduce the present bottom end price of solar panels, already just over $1 a watt, to one quarter of that, solar will really take off. Already, solar is increasing very rapid rates.

Damn, posted that just over 3 years ago, and now, in Austin, Texas, they are putting in 1.2 Gw of solar at under 4 cents a watt.