SolarWindow Technologies, Inc. (WNDW)

[BudTuba]

The real secret message that is not appreciated from the announcement of good efficiency is that the coating could be applied to any solar photovoltaic panel to improve its efficiency. From a 2007 press release by Octillion (former company name):

"Octillion is developing the first-of-its-kind transparent glass window capable of generating electricity using silicon nanoparticles. Last week, in a published study unrelated to the NREL findings, researchers reported that the nanoparticles used in Octillion’s NanoPower Window technology are able to substantially increase the power performance of conventional solar cells by 60-70% in the ultraviolet-blue range and significantly boost power by as much as 10% in the visible light range.

In separate research published in the most cited source for nanoscience and nanotechnology (American Chemical Society’s Nano Letters Journal; July 24, 2007), NREL scientists reported that silicon nanocrystals can produce more than one electron from single photons of sunlight, a phenomenon referred to as Multiple Exciton Generation (MEG). When today’s conventional photovoltaic solar cells absorb a photon of sunlight, about 50 percent of the incident energy is lost as heat. MEG provides a way to convert some of this energy lost as heat into additional electricity.

Importantly, the silicon nanoparticles used in Octillion’s NanoPower Window technology are able to successfully convert the same UV components that typically cause damage and create wasteful heat into useful electrical energy, a recently published finding. (American Institute of Physics’ Applied Physics Letters; August 6, 2007)"

From the article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070820130641.htm

The inventor Munir Naymeh from the University of Illinois, "Integrating a high-quality film of silicon nanoparticles 1 nanometer in size directly onto silicon solar cells improves power performance by 60 percent in the ultraviolet range of the spectrum," said Munir Nayfeh, a physicist at the University of Illinois and corresponding author of a paper accepted for publication in Applied Physics Letters.

Solar cells coated with a film of 1 nanometer, blue luminescent particles showed a power enhancement of about 60 percent in the ultraviolet range of the spectrum, but less than 3 percent in the visible range, the researchers report.

Solar cells coated with 2.85 nanometer, red particles showed an enhancement of about 67 percent in the ultraviolet range, and about 10 percent in the visible.

The improved performance is a result of enhanced voltage rather than current, Nayfeh said. "Our results point to a significant role for charge transport across the film and rectification at the nanoparticle interface."

The process of coating solar cells with silicon nanoparticles could be easily incorporated into the manufacturing process with little additional cost, Nayfeh said.

This technology can be licensed by New Energy Technologies to all of the solar photovoltaic panel manufacturers and provide funds to develop their products to apply to windows.