IBand Technology from RoseStreet Labs
Energy Boom
RoseStreet LabsEnergy Inc. (RSLE) reveals its IBand technology as the first successful attempt at multiband, high-efficiency photovoltaic solar.
No, I’m not talking about a nifty cover for your Ipod Touch or some strange wristband that remembers who you’ve shaken hands with.
This discovery carries a touch more significance.
The announcement comes after a successful laboratory demonstration of the first known multiband photovoltaic device featuring threedistinct light absorption regions integrated into a single layer thinfilm device.
Some Context:
Multiband solar’s potential was discovered almost thirty years ago.The idea: solar conversion efficiency improves when all levels of solar spectrumabsorption pass through corresponding "band gaps" for conversion.
In particular, low-energy photos that would normally pass through asolar cell and be wasted can actually be absorbed and converted. Instead of capturing only a portion of the sun’s spectrum, we can now captureall of it — theoretically.
The Low Down:
Conventional solar is maxing out at 15% efficiency (on a good day).RSLE’s IBand technology may boost efficiency as high as 35%. And if they succeed and couple IBand with mirror and thermal technology, then theefficiency will increase further.
Bob Forcier, CEO of RSLE, stated, "Although we are three to four years away from high volume production with the IBandproduct, this development opens up a new class of semiconductor devices for photovoltaic conversion and other advanced semiconductorapplications."
And it only took 30 years.
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Original Article on EnergyBoom
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