Batteries: thermoelectric and photoelectric inventions 07/06

20060162761 - Methods and apparatus for thermal isolation for thermoelectric devices: Methods and apparatus for improved thermal isolation for thermoelectric devices are disclosed. In one embodiment, a thermoelectric device includes a first substrate having a first conductive pad, a second substrate having a second conductive pad, and a gap formed between the first and second conductive pads. At least one of...

20060162762 - Self-cooled photo-voltaic device and method for intensification of cooling thereof: The invention provides a self-cooled PV device that consists of a PV unit and a radiative cooling unit with specific cooling-enhancing means that covers the solar-energy absorbing side of the PV unit. The aforementioned specific radiation enhancing means may have an electric charge positively induced in the radiative cooling unit...

20060162763 - Photovoltaic apparatus and mass-producing apparatus for mass-producing spherical semiconductor particles: A photoelectric conversion element is disposed in each of a plurality of recesses of a support. Light reflected by the inside surface of the recess shines on the photoelectric conversion element. The photoelectric conversion element has an approximately spherical shape and has the following structure. The outer surface of a...

20060162764 - Lead structure: In a lead to be welded through solder to a pass-bar of a solar battery cell, a plurality of through holes having corners in the lateral direction of the lead are formed along its longitudinal direction. Consequently, when the lead is disposed on a pass-bar of a solar battery cell...

20060162766 - Back-contacted solar cells with integral conductive vias and method of making: Methods of manufacturing back-contacted p-type semiconductor substrate solar cells fabricated using a gradient-driven solute transport process, such as thermomigration or electromigration, to create n-type conductive vias connecting the n-type emitter layer on the front side to n-type ohmic contacts located on the back side, and back-contacted solar cells with integral...

20060162765 - Porous zinc oxide thin-film for substrate of dye-sensitized solar cell, zinc oxide/dye composite thin-film for photoelectrode and dye-sensitized solar cell: The invention provides a porous zinc oxide thin film for a substrate of a dye-sensitized solar cell having pores formed by mixing an electrolytic solution containing a zinc salt with a template compound in advance in the presence of a desired substrate, applying cathodic electrodeposition for uniform and forcible material...

20060162767 - Multi-junction, monolithic solar cell with active silicon substrate: A monolithic multi-junction (tandem) photo-voltaic (PV) device includes one or more PV subcells epitaxially formed on a compliant silicon substrate (102). The compliant silicon substrate (102) includes a base silicon layer (108), a conductive perovskite layer (112), and an oxide layer (110) interposed between the base silicon layer (108) and...

20060162768 - Low bandgap, monolithic, multi-bandgap, optoelectronic devices: Low-bandgap, monolithic, multi-bandgap, optoelectronic devices (10), including PV converters, photodetectors, and LED's, have lattice-matched (LM), double-heterostructure (DH), low-bandgap GaInAs(P) subcells (22, 24) including those that are lattice-mismatched (LMM) to InP, grown on an InP substrate (26) by use of at least one graded lattice constant transition layer (20) of InAsP...

20060162770 - Electrode substrate, photoelectric conversion element, conductive glass substrate and production method therefo, and pigment sensitizing solar cell: In an electrode substrate 1, the surface of a metal circuit layer 12 is covered and insulated by an insulating layer 14. In a photoelectric conversion element that uses this electrode substrate 1, the metal circuit layer is reliably shielded from an electrolyte solution or the like so that corrosion...

20060162769 - Low-temperature metal oxide coating: A low-temperature fabrication method for fabricating a conformal metal oxide coating on a substrate, the method comprising the steps of. coating a surface of a substrate with a non-hydrolysed precursor solution of one or more moisture-sensitive metal alkoxides in an organic solvent at a temperature of less than 150° C.;...

20060162771 - Sealing agent for photoelectric conversion element and photoelectric conversion device element using the same: A sealing agent for a photoelectric conversion device which comprises one or more of a compound having a glycidyl structure, a compound having a cyclohexene oxide structure, a compound having an oxetane structure and a compound having a vinyl ether structure, and a cationic polymerization initiator; a photoelectric conversion device...

20060162772 - System and method for monitoring photovoltaic power generation systems: A system and method for monitoring photovoltaic power generation systems or arrays, both on a local (site) level and from a central location. The system includes panel and string combiner sentries or intelligent devices, in bidirectional communication with a master device on the site to facilitate installation and troubleshooting of...

20060157101 - System and method for fabrication of high-efficiency durable thermoelectric devices: The present invention relates to a durable high-efficiency thermoelectric device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a thermoelectric device formed with a novel thermoelectric material and system which incorporates a vaporizable scaffolding to create microscopic gaps between the thermoelectric elements which are filled with a high-density, shrink-resistant aerogel....

20060157102 - Waste heat recovery system and thermoelectric conversion system: A waste heat recover system includes a mechanism for supplying power by use of a thermoelectric conversion unit, and a mechanism for utilizing heat released from the thermoelectric conversion unit. Heat released from the thermoelectric conversion unit is utilized for, for example, heating, defrosting, defogging, temperature keeping of fuel, temperature...

20060157103 - Optoelectronic architecture having compound conducting substrate cross-reference to related application: Optoelectronic device modules, arrays optoelectronic device modules and methods for fabricating optoelectronic device modules are disclosed. The device modules are made using a starting substrate having an insulator layer sandwiched between a bottom electrode made of a flexible bulk conductor and a conductive back plane. An active layer is disposed...

20060157104 - Surface-modified semiconductor electrode, dye-sensitized solar cell, method of manufacturing the solar cell, and polymer composition used for the method: Provided is a semiconductor anode including: a metal oxide semiconductor formed on a conductive substrate; a dye formed on a surface of the metal oxide semiconductor; and a polymer self-assembled on a surface of the metal oxide semiconductor. Provided are also a dye-sensitized solar cell, a method of manufacturing the...

20060157105 - Solar cell and semiconductor device, and manufacturing method thereof: It is an object of the present invention to minimize an electrode in a solar cell to minimize the solar cell. The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a solar cell comprising the steps of forming a first electrode layer over a substrate, forming a photoelectric conversion layer over...

20060151021 - Low power thermoelectric generator: A thermoelectric generator has a top plate disposed in spaced relation above a bottom plate. A series of foil segments are electrically and mechanically connected end-to-end to generate a foil assembly that is spirally wound and in thermal contact with the bottom and top plates. Each foil segment comprises a...

20060151022 - Flat plate panel solar electrical generators and methods: Novel flat plate solar panels are disclosed, which, using low profile multiple axes tracking, keep the surface of each flat plate panel upon which rays of the sun are impinged essentially perpendicular to those rays enabling a higher rate of conversion to electrical energy and a long interval each day...

20060151025 - Active layer for solar cell and the manufacturing method making the same: A method for manufacturing an active layer of a solar cell is disclosed, the active layer manufactured including multiple micro cavities in sub-micrometer scale, which can increase the photoelectric conversion rate of a solar cell. The method comprises following steps: providing a substrate having multiple layers of nanospheres which are...

20060151023 - Process for manufacturing a solar cell foil using a temporary substrate: The invention pertains to a process for manufacturing a solar cell foil comprising the steps of: providing an etchable temporary substrate applying a front electrode of a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) onto the temporary substrate applying a photovoltaic layer onto the TCO layer applying a back electrode layer applying a...

20060151024 - Solar cell module and method for installing same: A solar cell module includes photoelectric converters, and resin surface covering materials covering the light-incident side of photoelectric converters, trenches being formed in the surface covering materials. The trenches extend approximately in parallel to the horizontal plane for a certain length, and in parallel to each other, so as to...

20060144435 - High-efficiency, monolithic, multi-bandgap, tandem photovoltaic energy converters: A monolithic, multi-bandgap, tandem solar photovoltaic converter has at least one, and preferably at least two, subcells grown lattice-matched on a substrate with a bandgap in medium to high energy portions of the solar spectrum and at least one subcell grown lattice-mismatched to the substrate with a bandgap in the...

20060144436 - Method of junction formation for cigs photovoltaic devices: Sulfur is used to improve the performance of CIGS devices prepared by the evaporation of a single source ZIS type compound to form a buffer layer on the CIGS. The sulfur may be evaporated, or contained in the ZIS type material, or both. Vacuum evaporation apparatus of many types useful...