READ THROUGH THE LINES & RESPECT THE FUNDAMENTALS. they did say about their technology that the basis is a new "proprietary thermionic generator" (see VAENZA website) that allows to convert almost any surface into a solar energy harvesting device. this is currently a very hot area of research (see ongoing research project at Stanford below).
the impacts of a breakthrough in this field could be huge (see also earlier RSC report from 2007). they say "pollution free", hinting it may indeed be a purely organic molecule-based, non-heavy metal technology. If true & verified, it has the potential to blow FIRST SOLAR's cadmium-telluride based technology out of the water.
I also like their recent executive appoinments; new head of manufacturing & supply chain indicates closeness to production stage & their new Head of R&D (Dr. Sang Oh), if it's the same one I found in SciFinder (Sang Rok Oh) (guess based on background, company did not give his middle name) has an impressive record in the semiconductor industry & research.
I'm willing to take a bet on this one.
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Organic electricity generator is hot stuff
21 February 2007
US researchers have successfully demonstrated the thermoelectric effect in an organic molecule. Until now, thermoelectricity - the generation of electricity directly from heat - has largely been confined to systems consisting of metals or inorganic semiconductors. The findings open up the possibility of potential new energy sources, and also present a novel way for probing the electronic structure of molecular junctions, something that is crucial for the development of the field of molecular electronics.
Arun Majumdar and colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, coated a gold surface with molecules of benzenedithiol, dibenzenedithiol or tribenzenedithiol. They then lowered the gold tip of a modified atomic force microscope toward this surface to trap the organic molecules in place. A temperature difference was then generated across the two gold electrodes, which in turn generated a voltage. For each degree Celsius of difference, the researchers measured 8.7 microvolts for benzenedithiol, 12.9 microvolts for dibenzenedithiol and 14.2 microvolts for tribenzenedithiol.
'The effect may seem quite small now, but this is a significant proof of concept and the first step in organic molecular thermoelectricity,' said Pramod Reddy, one of the research team.
A benzenedithiol molecule trapped between two gold surfaces
© Ben Utley
The phenomenon is known as the Seebeck effect, and was first observed almost 200 years ago. It is commonly seen where the junctions of two different metals are kept at different temperatures to generate a voltage, but it has proved difficult to exploit the process to produce efficient power generators. Most systems require expensive metals such as bismuth and tellerium, making them costly to manufacture.
The California researchers are hopeful that their work marks a breakthrough in thermoelectricity and that more cost-effective thermoelectric converters might be possible with organic-based systems.
'The goal is to make things out of materials that are more abundant and more easily processed,' said Rachel Segalman, another member of the Berkeley team. 'Organics are cheap and can be easily processed.'
This view was echoed by Majumdar: 'The use of inexpensive organic molecules and metal nanoparticles offers the promise of low-cost, plastic-like power generators and refrigerators,' he said.
David Cahill of the Universityof Illinois, Urbana Champaigne, is impressed by the study. 'The Berkeley group has accomplished a terrific advancement in the
science of thermoelectricity at the level of individual molecules,' he told Chemistry World. 'Their methods open up a wide array of new molecular structures that can be probed and optimised for their ability to convert heat into electrical power.'
However, Cahill pointed out that there is still a long way to go. 'The molecules that the Berkeley group studied are a long way from an efficient energy material. The Seebeck coefficient - that is, the size of the voltage produced by a given temperature difference - is at least an order of magnitude too small. But it points the way forward as a new direction for the field.'
The research team now proposes to test different organic molecules and metals and fine-tune the assembly of their system.
Simon Hadlington
ReferencesP Reddy et al, Science, 2007, DOI: 10.1126/science.1137149
Also of interestA force for change
Atomic force microscopy has long revealed surface wonders to scientists from many disciplines. Now new probes are bringing improved resolution. Yfke Hager investigates
The attraction of gold for gold
Weak gold-gold interactions in organic complexes affect the systems' emission spectra and could lead to a new type of sensor.
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===============================================
Organic electricity generator is hot stuff
21 February 2007
US researchers have successfully demonstrated the thermoelectric effect in an organic molecule. Until now, thermoelectricity - the generation of electricity directly from heat - has largely been confined to systems consisting of metals or inorganic semiconductors. The findings open up the possibility of potential new energy sources, and also present a novel way for probing the electronic structure of molecular junctions, something that is crucial for the development of the field of molecular electronics.
for full article, go to the RSC website:
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2007/February/21020702.asp
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Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS March Meeting 2010
Volume 55, Number 2
Monday–Friday, March 15–19, 2010; Portland, Oregon
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March Meeting
Session W29: Focus Session: Thermoelectrics V: III-V's & Nanostructures
11:15 AM–2:03 PM, Thursday, March 18, 2010
Room: C123
Sponsoring Units: DMP FIAP GERA
Chair: Lilia Woods, University of South Florida
Abstract ID: BAPS.2010.MAR.W29.6
Abstract: W29.00006 : Photon Enhanced Thermionic Emission for Solar Concentrator Systems
12:39 PM–12:51 PM
Preview Abstract
Authors:
Jared Schwede
(Stanford University)
Igor Bargatin
(Stanford University)
Dan Riley
(Stanford University)
Brian Hardin
(Stanford University)
Roger Howe
(Stanford University)
Nick Melosh
(Stanford University)
Zhi-Xun Shen
(Stanford University)
Photon Enhanced Thermionic Emission (PETE) is a newly proposed method of solar energy harvesting which combines quantum and thermal processes into a single electricity generating mechanism. The proposed PETE device can be thought of as a synthesis of a photovoltaic (PV) cell and thermionic converter, and the process is expected to overcome some of the challenges which limit either of its intellectual antecedents. Because PETE can harvest the energy of sub-bandgap photons and recover heat produced by thermalization and recombination, possible PETE conversion efficiencies exceed the theoretical limits of single junction PV cells. A PETE converter operates most efficiently at high temperatures, which would allow the waste heat of the device to be used to power a secondary thermal cycle. Principles of PETE operation and limiting efficiencies are described.