Batteries: thermoelectric and photoelectric inventions 09/09

20090235968 - Apparatus for generating electric power using thermal energy: An apparatus for generating electric power using thermal energy includes a thermoelectric semiconductor device having opposite first and second ceramic layers spaced apart from each other, a row of first conductive members attached spacedly to an inner surface of the first ceramic layer, a row of second conductive members attached... Agent: Lando & Anastasi, LLP

20090235969 - Ternary thermoelectric materials and methods of fabrication: A thermoelectric material and a method of fabricating a thermoelectric material are provided. The thermoelectric material includes a compound having an elemental formula of A1−xB1+yC2+z and having a coefficient of thermal expansion greater than 20 parts-per-million per degree Celsius in at least one direction at one or more operating temperatures.... Agent: Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP

20090235972 - Adhesive tape and solar cell module using the same: The present invention provides an adhesive tape 10 for electrically connecting a plurality of solar battery cells, which adhesive tape has a metal foil 1 and an adhesive layer 2 composed of an adhesive provided on at least one surface of the metal foil 1, and a solar battery module... Agent: Griffin & Szipl, PC

20090235970 - Energy-storage mouse pad capable of absorbing light energy: An energy-storage mouse pad capable of absorbing light energy is provided. The energy-storage mouse pad uses a solar panel disposed on a base thereof to collect ambient light illumination energy and transform it into electric energy to be stored in a storage device, and then supplies electric power to peripheral... Agent: Juei-chao Chen

20090235971 - Photoactive device with organic layers: The invention relates to a photoactive device with organic layers, especially a solar cell, with a layer arrangement having an electrode and a counterelectrode as well as a sequence of organic layers arranged between the electrode and the counterelectrode, wherein two layers bordering on one another are formed in a... Agent: Ostrolenk Faber Gerb & Soffen

20090235973 - Positioning system for solar panels: A system for positioning a solar panel includes a first frame and a second frame substantially parallel with the first frame. A plurality of tubes intersect the first frame and extend through the second frame. Each tube has a free end and a distal end. A photovoltaic device attached to... Agent: Paul F. Wille

20090235974 - Solar concentrator and devices and methods using them: Solar concentrators are disclosed that improve the efficiency of PV cells and systems using them. The solar concentrators may be designed such that they include one or more chromophores that emit light to a PV cell. Various materials and components of the solar concentrators are also described.... Agent: Lando & Anastasi, LLP

20090235975 - Tracking solar collector assembly: A tracking solar collector assembly includes solar collector support structure, with at least one solar collector mounted thereto and first and second spaced apart pivotal support points defining a tilt axis, Southside supports, with first pivot connectors, and North side supports, with a base, a second pivot connector, and one... Agent: Sunpower Corporation C/o Haynes Beffel & Wolfeld LLP

20090235977 - Key module with energy storage function: A key module with energy storage function includes a transparent key unit, a sun cell, and an elastic unit. The transparent key unit has a plurality of transparent microstructures. The sun cell is disposed under a bottom side of the transparent key unit, and the sun cell has a light-receiving... Agent: Rosenberg, Klein & Lee

20090235978 - Method for producing photoactive layers and componets comprising said layer(s): A method for producing photoactive layers, and components, such as solar cells, including the layers. According to the invention, the photoactive layers are produced by forming a non-semiconducting layer from precursor material including at least one metal compound and a salt-like and/or organic reactant on a substrate by printing or... Agent: Young & Thompson

20090235976 - Solar cell: A photovoltaic cell may include a semiconductor base, a semiconductor mesa extending from the semiconductor base, a dielectric and a conductive material. The semiconductor mesa includes a top surface and a side wall, and a first portion of the dielectric is disposed on the top surface, a second portion of... Agent: Buckley, Maschoff & Talwalkar LLC

20090235981 - Boron nitride anti-reflection coatings and methods: High performance photovoltaic devices are provided. Certain embodiments relate to the use of Boron-Nitride (BN) thin films as anti-reflection coating (ARC) material on Si and GaAs solar cells. A low and wide reflectance window covering a large energy range of the solar spectrum is available. For a large part of... Agent: HoustonIPDepartment Jackson Walker L.L.P.

20090235979 - Interconnect assembly: An interconnect assembly. The interconnect assembly includes a trace that includes a plurality of electrically conductive portions. The plurality of electrically conductive portions is configured both to collect current from a first solar cell and to interconnect electrically to a second solar cell. In addition, the plurality of electrically conductive... Agent: Weaver Austin Villeneuve & Sampson LLP

20090235982 - Photoelectric conversion element: A photoelectric conversion element includes: a first electrode having a porous oxide semiconductor layer which supports a sensitizing dye on a surface thereof and functioning as a photo electrode; a second electrode disposed so as to oppose the first electrode; an electrolyte disposed in at least a part of a... Agent: Sughrue Mion, PLLC

20090235980 - Solar cell manufacturing method and solar cell: An aspect of the invention provides a solar cell manufacturing method that comprises the steps of: forming a porous layer, having a plurality of pores, on a photoelectric conversion body configured to generate photo-generated carriers upon receipt of light; and forming an electrode by disposing a conductive material on the... Agent: Mots Law, PLLC

20090235983 - Interlayer design for epitaxial growth of semiconductor layers: An interlayer structure that, in one implementation, includes a combination of an amorphous or nano-crystalline seed-layer, and one or more metallic layers, deposited on the seed layer, with the fcc, hcp or bcc crystal structure is used to epitaxially orient a semiconductor layer on top of non-single-crystal substrates. In some... Agent: Baker Botts L.L.P.

20090235985 - Concentrators for solar power generating systems: The invention is directed to a system for concentrating light for solar thermal and solar photovoltaic generating systems. The system includes a plurality of concentrating regions. Each concentrating region includes an input end having a perimeter or width in a lenticular configuration, an output end having a perimeter or width... Agent: Pepper Hamilton LLP

20090235984 - Solar cell module: A solar cell module includes a solar cell, a ring and a lens. The solar cell includes at least one photo detector provided on the top, a plurality of pins extended from the bottom and at least a mark formed thereon for marking the pins. The ring is detachably mounted... Agent: Troxell Law Office PLLC Suite 1404

20090235986 - Back contact for thin film solar cells: s

20090235987 - Chemical treatments to enhance photovoltaic performance of cigs: The present invention provides method of treating semiconductor surfaces (e.g., CIGS) using various solvents (including ionic solvents and eutectics), and methods preparing photovoltaic cells comprising treated CIGS materials.... Agent: Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.l.l.c.

20090235988 - Solar cells based on polymer nanowires: Solar cells having active layers that include poly(3-alkylthiophene) nanowires.... Agent: Christensen, O'connor, Johnson, Kindness, PLLC

20090229648 - Closely spaced electrodes with a uniform gap: An improved design for maintaining separation between electrodes in tunneling, diode, thermionic, thermophotovoltaic and other devices is disclosed. At least one electrode is made from flexible material. A magnetic field is present to combine with the current flowing in the flexible electrode and generate a force that counterbalances the electrostatic... Agent: Hayes Soloway P.C.

20090229647 - P-type thermoelectric materials, a process for their manufacture and uses thereof: A thermoelectric material of the p-type having the stoichiometric formula Zn4Sb3, wherein part of the Zn atoms optionally being substituted by one or more elements selected from the group comprising Sn, Mg, Pb and the transition metals in a total amount of 20 mol % or less in relation to... Agent: James C. Wray

20090229649 - Thermal management for improved engine operation: A method comprising flowing engine combustion exhaust through a thermoelectric device and flowing engine coolant through the thermoelectric device to provide faster engine and transmission warming (coolant, oil).... Agent: General Motors Corporation C/o Reising, Ethington, Barnes, Kisselle, P.C.

20090229650 - Solar thermoelectric power station: A solid-state thermoelectric generator device can directly drive a high voltage grid at voltage without a special step-up transformer. Phase sensing, output voltage and waveform of the generator can be electronically adjusted to match parameters sensed directly from the grid, generator output adjusted to conform exactly to the grid. Three... Agent: Jon Murray Schroeder

20090229652 - Hybrid solar concentrator: Solar concentrators are disclosed that improve the efficiency of PV cells and systems using them. The solar concentrators may be designed such that they include one or more chromophores that emit light to a PV cell. Various materials and components of the solar concentrators are also described.... Agent: Lando & Anastasi, LLP

20090229651 - Solar energy production system: A device for generating solar electrical energy generally includes an optic for focusing solar radiation, a collimating optic, a semi-conductor optical gates wedge disposed near the focal point of the collimation optic for dispersing incident solar radiation between a plurality of adjacent wavelength bands, an array of photovoltaic cells, each... Agent: Walter A. Hackler

20090229653 - Stacked-layered thin film solar cell and manufacturing method thereof: This invention discloses a stacked-layered thin film solar cell and a manufacturing method thereof. The stacked-layered thin film solar cell with a plurality of unit cells comprises a substrate, a first electrode layer, a first photoconductive layer, an interlayer, a second photoconductive layer, and a second electrode layer in a... Agent: Sinorica, LLC

20090229656 - Airborne power station: A system for generating power from sunlight collected substantially above the earth's surface comprises an airborne platform which supports an apparatus to collect sunlight, an apparatus to convert sunlight to electricity, and an apparatus to transmit the electricity to a selected location on the earth's surface. The airborne platform collects... Agent: Hayes Soloway P.C.

20090229655 - Solar cell: A solar cell is provided. The solar cell defines a receiving room in where at least a cell unit is located. A transparent cover plate is placed over the cell unit. In addition, the transparent cover plate includes a base plate and a structured plate which are adhered to each... Agent: Kamrath & Associates P.A.

20090229654 - Solar cell module and solar cell array: A reliable solar cell module is provided whereby the liquid is less likely to stay thereon, thus dirt is less likely to occur on the light receiving surface of the solar cell module even in a prolonged use. A solar cell module comprising a solar cell panel P configured by... Agent: Hogan & Hartson L.L.P.

20090229657 - Transparent conductive layer and method: The photovoltaic structure comprises a thin film coating on a transparent substrate, the thin film comprising an effective amount of nanocrystalline silicon embedded in a matrix of amorphous and/or microcrystalline silicon. A transparent conducting oxide layer on a layer of non-conductive transparent oxide provides light-trapping capability as well as electrical... Agent: Gregor N. Neff, Esq.

20090229659 - Monolithic, multi-bandgap, tandem, ultra-thin, strain-counterbalanced, photovoltaic energy converters with optimal subcell bandgaps: Modeling a monolithic, multi-bandgap, tandem, solar photovoltaic converter or thermophotovoltaic converter by constraining the bandgap value for the bottom subcell to no less than a particular value produces an optimum combination of subcell bandgaps that provide theoretical energy conversion efficiencies nearly as good as unconstrained maximum theoretical conversion efficiency models,... Agent: Paul J White, Patent Counsel National Renewable Energy Laboratory (nrel)

20090229658 - Non-isoelectronic surfactant assisted growth in inverted metamorphic multijunction solar cells: A method of forming a multifunction solar cell including an upper subcell, a middle subcell, and a lower subcell, the method including: providing a substrate for the epitaxial growth of semiconductor material; forming a first solar subcell on the substrate having a first band gap; forming a second solar subcell... Agent: Emcore Corporation

20090229660 - Solar cell and method for manufacturing the same: A solar cell includes a pair of opposing substrates of which at least one is transparent, conductive films that have different work function and are respectively provided to opposing faces of the pair of substrates, a silicon layer nipped between the conductive films, and an insulative partition wall provided between... Agent: Harness, Dickey & Pierce, P.L.C

20090229661 - High efficiency solar cells: The present invention relates to improvements in solar cell and solar panel photovoltaic materials which cause the solar cells/panels to operate more efficiently. In particular, the present invention focuses primarily on matching or modifying particular incident light energies (e.g., solar energies) within the photoreactive portion of the solar spectrum to... Agent: Mark G. Mortenson

20090229665 - Aluminum pastes and use thereof in the production of silicon solar cells: Disclosed are aluminum pastes comprising particulate aluminum, a zinc-organic component and an organic vehicle and their use in forming p-type aluminum back electrodes of silicon solar cells.... Agent: E I Du Pont De Nemours And Company Legal Patent Records Center

20090229664 - Method of manufacturing nanocrystalline photovoltaic devices: The photovoltaic structure comprises a thin film coating on a transparent substrate, the thin film comprising an effective amount of nanocrystalline silicon embedded in a matrix of amorphous and/or microcrystalline silicon. A transparent conducting oxide layer on a layer of non-conductive transparent oxide provides light-trapping capability as well as electrical... Agent: Gregor N. Neff, Esq.

20090229663 - Nanocrystalline photovoltaic device: The photovoltaic structure comprises a thin film coating on a transparent substrate, the thin film comprising an effective amount of nanocrystalline silicon embedded in a matrix of amorphous and/or microcrystalline silicon. A transparent conducting oxide layer on a layer of non-conductive transparent oxide provides light-trapping capability as well as electrical... Agent: Nanopv Technologies Inc. Attention: Michael Latefi, Cfo

20090229662 - Off-cut substrates in inverted metamorphic multijunction solar cells: A method of forming a multijunction solar cell including an upper subcell, a middle subcell, and a lower subcell, including: providing a substrate having an off-cut of 15° from the (001) plane to the (111)A plane for the epitaxial growth of semiconductor material; forming a first solar subcell on the... Agent: Emcore Corporation

20090229666 - Smoothing a metallic substrate for a solar cell: A method for smoothing the surface of a metallic substrate. The method includes providing a metallic substrate and smoothing a surface of the metallic substrate by irradiating the surface with a high-intensity energy source, such that the surface is smoothed to remove defects from the surface by creating an altered... Agent: Weaver Austin Villeneuve & Sampson LLP

20090229668 - Organic photoelectric conversion film and photoelectric conversion device having the same: Provided are an organic photoelectric conversion film and a photoelectric conversion device having the organic photoelectric conversion film. The organic photoelectric conversion film includes a p-type substance layer including rubrene and an n-type substance layer formed on the p-type substance layer and including fullerene or fullerene derivative.... Agent: Cantor Colburn, LLP

20090229670 - Organic photoelectric conversion material and photoelectric conversion element using the same: wherein, A represents an electron withdrawing atomic group; R1, R2 and R3 each independently represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent; L represents a divalent TC conjugated substituent; D represents an electron donating aromatic substituent; and X represents O, S, or N—Ra in which Ra represents a hydrogen atom or... Agent: Sughrue-265550

20090229669 - Protein-based photovoltaics and methods of use: Protein-based photovoltaic cells and the manufacture and use of protein-based photovoltaic cells are described. In one embodiment, bacteriorhodopsin from Halobacterium salinarum, which undergoes structural transitions when irradiated with a given wavelength of light, is used as the protein in the protein-based photovoltaic cells. In another embodiment, mutant bacteriorhodopsin from H.... Agent: John S. Pratt, Esq Kilpatrick Stockton, LLP

20090229667 - Translucent solar cell: A translucent solar cell has a transparent substrate and a first translucent electrode that is in anode. A transparent active layer, that is a substantially organic material layer, is formed on top of the anode. On top of the active layer, a second translucent electrode is formed. The second translucent... Agent: Greenberg Traurig LLP (la)

20090223548 - Thermionic/thermotunneling thermo-electrical converter: A thermionic or thermotunneling converter consisting of two electrodes maintained at a desired distance from one another by means of spacers in which the electrodes comprise silicon coated with a hard material, or comprise a ceramic or other refractory material. The spacers are formed by oxidizing one electrode, protecting certain... Agent: Rodney T Cox Borealis Technical Limited

20090223549 - solar cell and fabrication method using crystalline silicon based on lower grade feedstock materials: Formation of a solar cell device from upgraded metallurgical grade silicon which has received at least one defect engineering process and including a low contact resistance electrical path. An anti-reflective coating is formed on an emitter layer and back contacts are formed on a back surface of the bulk silicon... Agent: HulseyIPIntellectual Property Lawyers, P.C.

20090223551 - Process for making solar cells: The invention describes a process and apparatus for making a photovoltaic device in a continuous roll to roll process. The fabrication apparatus in accordance with the present invention is quite novel and non-obvious and provides capital efficiency and advantages in processing for thin film solar cells.... Agent: Nold Intellectual Property Law

20090223550 - Roof tile or tiled solar thermal collector: A building roof tile system and integrated solar energy system is disclosed that includes a solar thermal collector which is intended to replace a standard flat concrete roof tile or an S-tile type clay roof tile so as to be integrated with the concrete tiles and photovoltaic (“PV”) solar panels... Agent: Nixon & Vanderhye P.C.

20090223552 - Substrate and collector grid structures for integrated series connected photovoltaic arrays and process of manufacture of such arrays: This invention comprises deposition of thin film photovoltaic junctions on metal substrates which can be heat treated following deposition in a continuous fashion without deterioration of the metal support structure. In a separate operation an interconnection substrate structure is produced in a continuous roll-to-roll fashion. In this way the interconnection... Agent: Daniel Luch

20090223554 - Dual sided photovoltaic package: A double-sided photovoltaic package with an incident photovoltaic cell and a reflective photovoltaic cell. Both photovoltaic cells have a corresponding absorbing surface for absorbing solar radiation. The incident photovoltaic cell and the reflective photovoltaic cell are arranged so that when the absorbing surface of the incident photovoltaic cell is located... Agent: Emcore Corporation

20090223555 - High efficiency concentrating photovoltaic module method and apparatus: A Concentrating Photovoltaics (CPV) module includes a metal frame, a plurality of Fresnel lenses, a secondary reflective or refractive concentrator, multi-junction solar cells with up to 40% efficiency and a novel heat spreading material. The Fresnel lenses and the secondary concentrator focus the sun over 500 times to maximize the... Agent: Danny F. Ammar

20090223553 - Solar energy collection system: A collector (2) for concentrating radiation (5), preferably solar radiation, and an energy collection system (1) that includes the collector, which concentrates the radiation along an elongate region of a body which converts the radiation into electrical and/or heat energy. A lens (10) is also disclosed for use in the... Agent: Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP

20090223557 - Method of forming crystalline layer, and thin film solar cell and method of fabricating the solar cell adopting the method of forming crystalline layer: A method of forming a crystalline layer includes: disposing a heating layer on a substrate, wherein the heating layer is separated from the substrate by a support structure; and forming a crystalline layer on the heating layer using heat generated from the heating layer.... Agent: Cantor Colburn, LLP

20090223556 - Process of making a thin-film photovoltaic device and thin-film photovoltaic device: A thin-film photovoltaic device and a process of making such a device, the device comprising a first layer of a chalkopyrite semiconductor of a first doping type; a second layer of intrinsic zinc oxide deposited by chemical vapour deposition; a third layer of zinc oxide semiconductor of a second doping... Agent: Shell Oil Company

20090223558 - Solar cell: A solar cell includes a back electrode, a silicon substrate, a doped silicon layer and an upper electrode. The back electrode is located on and electrically connected to a lower surface of the silicon substrate. A number of cavities are formed on an upper surface of the silicon substrate. The... Agent: PCe Industry, Inc. Att. Steven Reiss

20090223559 - Laminate for dye-sensitized solar cell, electrode for dye-sensitized solar cell and method for producing it: A laminate for dye-sensitized solar cell comprising a plastic film of which the thermal shrinkage in the machine direction thereof when heat-treated at 200° C. for 10 minutes is from −1.5 to +0.5%, and a transparent conductive layer provided on the film, which comprises essentially indium oxide with zinc oxide... Agent: Sughrue Mion, PLLC

20090223561 - Method of etching asymmetric wafer, solar cell including the asymmetrically etched wafer, and method of manufacturing the same: With the present invention, two wafers for a solar cell only whose light receiving surfaces are selectively etched can be simultaneously obtained by overlapping the two wafers and performing a single-sided etching or an asymmetric etching thereon. The present invention provides a method of etching a wafer comprising: performing a... Agent: Birch Stewart Kolasch & Birch

20090223560 - Solar cell and method for manufacturing the same: A solar cell, including: a semiconductor substrate of a first conductive type, the semiconductor substrate having a first surface and a second surface facing away from to each other; a first electrode electrically coupled to the first surface of the semiconductor substrate; an emitter portion of a second conductive type,... Agent: Christie, Parker & Hale, LLP

20090223562 - Solar cell element manufacturing method and solar cell element: A solar cell element and method of manufacturing same is disclosed. A reverse-conductive-type layer is formed on at least one part of a first surface side of a one-conductive-type semiconductor substrate. A conductive layer is formed on the reverse-conductive-type layer. A contact region for electrically connecting the conductive layer and... Agent: Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP

20090223563 - Paste composition and solar cell element using the same: Provided are a paste composition capable of inhibiting formation of blisters and globules of aluminum in a back surface electrode layer, which is caused at the time of firing, and of reducing deformation of a silicon semiconductor substrate; and a solar cell element comprising an electrode formed by using the... Agent: Birch Stewart Kolasch & Birch

20090223564 - Solar cell and method for making same: An exemplary solar cell includes a substrate having a surface, a back metal contact layer formed on the surface of the substrate, a first type semiconductor layer formed on the back metal contact layer, a second type semiconductor layer formed on the first type semiconductor layer, and a CNT film... Agent: PCe Industry, Inc. Att. Steven Reiss

20090223565 - Self-oscillation communication module: Provided is a self-oscillation communication module in which an optical device, a solar battery, and a radio frequency (RF) device are monolithic-integrated. When an active layer of the optical device contains In(Ga)As quantum dots, the optical device can emit light ranging from 800 to 1600 nm and transmit signals at... Agent: Ampacc Law Group

20090223566 - Photoelectric conversion element and imaging device: o

20090217960 - Electrical power source using heat from fluids produced from the earth's subsurface: A thermoelectric generator for producing electric power from heat in fluids produced from a subsurface wellbore includes a conduit for moving therethrough fluids produced from the Earth's subsurface and at least one thermoelectric module affixed to an exterior of the conduit. The at least one thermoelectric module includes a collimating... Agent: Richard A. Fagin

20090217961 - Integrated thermoelectric cooling devices and methods for fabricating same: Semiconductor integrated thermoelectric devices are provided, which are formed having high-density arrays of thermoelectric (TE) elements using semiconductor thin-film and VLSI (very large scale integration) fabrication processes. Thermoelectric devices can be either separately formed and bonded to semiconductor chips, or integrally formed within the non-active surface of semiconductor chips, for... Agent: F. Chau & Associates, LLC

20090217962 - Thermocouple array for generating electrical power for lighter than air vehicles: An energy generating device for lighter-than-air vehicles having a gas impervious outer flexible fabric including a flexible photovoltaic array located on the outer layer of the gas impervious fabric; a thermocouple array located between the photovoltaic cells and the gas impervious fabric; a thermally conductive layer or heat spreader between... Agent: Roetzel And Andress

20090217963 - Photovoltaic apparatus for charging a portable electronic device and method for making: A method of making a plurality of photovoltaic cells (400, 800, 1112) for charging a battery (1230) of an electronic device (1010) includes forming by a self-assembly process a plurality of interdigitated photovoltaic cells (400, 800, 1112) between two terminal electrodes (102, 202, 132, 232) coupled to the battery (1230).... Agent: Ingrassia Fisher & Lorenz, P.C. (mot)

20090217965 - Apparatus and method for enhanced solar power generation and maximum power point tracking: Disclosed is an apparatus and methodology for generating operating power for various desired applications using solar energy. A solar array is formed using a small number of solar cells connected in series to form a string of solar cells and then connecting multiple strings in parallel. Unlike conventional solar arrays,... Agent: Dority & Manning, P.A.

20090217964 - Device, system, and method for improving the efficiency of solar panels: A system, method and apparatus are disclosed for improving an operating efficiency of a photovoltaic array. In one embodiment, the method includes arranging a first portion of a photovoltaic array so that the first portion of the photovoltaic array operates above a ground potential; switchably coupling an output of the... Agent: Neugeboren O'dowd PC

20090217966 - Thin-film type solar cell including by-pass diode and manufacturing method thereof: According to the present invention, a photovoltaic conversion apparatus having high photoelectric conversion efficiency can be manufactured. Also, the photovoltaic conversion apparatus will contribute to earths environmental conservation as the next clean energy source and can be directly applied to private facilities, public facilities, military facilities, etc., to create enormous... Agent: Birch Stewart Kolasch & Birch

20090217967 - Porous silicon quantum dot photodetector: Embodiments of the present invention provide a solar energy converter, which includes a silicon layer having at least two regions of a first and a second conductivity type that form a P-N junction, at least a portion of the silicon layer being porous, and pores in the portion of porous... Agent: International Business Machines Corporation Dept. 18g

20090217968 - Silicon oxide-nitride-carbide with embedded nanocrystalline semiconductor particles: A solar call is provided along with a method for forming a semiconductor nanocrystalline silicon insulating thin-film with a tunable bandgap. The method provides a substrate and introduces a silicon (Si) source gas with at least one of the following source gases: germanium (Ge), oxygen, nitrogen, or carbon into a... Agent: Sharp Laboratories Of America, Inc. C/o Law Office Of Gerald Maliszewski

20090217970 - Fixtures for large area directional and isotropic solid state lighting panels: Reflector designs for a large area panel light source create induced draft cooling means adjacent to the panel light source. The panel light source has a wavelength conversion element on a solid state light source for emitting light of a first and second wavelength to form a broader emission spectrum... Agent: Goldeneye, Inc.

20090217969 - Method for manufacturing photoelectric converter and photoelectric converter: Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a photoelectric converter wherein a lower electrode layer, a compound semiconductor thin film having a chalcopyrite structure which serves as a light absorptive layer and a light-transmitting electrode layer that are laminated to form layers are each patterned by photolithography, thereby minimizing damages to... Agent: Rabin & Berdo, PC

20090217971 - Photovoltaic devices with enhanced efficiencies using high-aspect-ratio nanostructures: Photovoltaic devices and techniques for enhancing efficiency thereof are provided. In one aspect, a photovoltaic device is provided. The photovoltaic device comprises a photocell having a first photoactive layer and a second photoactive layer adjacent to the first photoactive layer so as to form a heterojunction between the first photoactive... Agent: Michael J. Chang, LLC

20090217972 - Techniques for enhancing efficiency of photovoltaic devices using high-aspect-ratio nanostructures: Photovoltaic devices and techniques for enhancing efficiency thereof are provided. In one aspect, a photovoltaic device is provided. The photovoltaic device comprises a photocell having a photoactive layer and a non-photoactive layer adjacent to the photoactive layer so as to form a heterojunction between the photoactive layer and the non-photoactive... Agent: Michael J. Chang, LLC

20090217975 - Glassless solar power module comprising at least one flexible thin-film solar cell and method for producing the same: The invention relates to thin-film solar power modules. The problem associated with known thin-film solar power modules is that the barrier effect of the front film does not prevent moisture from permeating the space between the solar cell and the cover film when exposed to moisture over a longer period... Agent: Norris, Mclaughlin & Marcus, P.A.

20090217978 - Low iron transmission float glass for solar cell applications and method of making same: Certain example embodiments of this invention relate to a high transmission low iron glass, which is highly oxidized and made using the float process, for use in photovoltaic devices such as solar cells or the like. In certain example embodiments, the glass composition used for the glass is made via... Agent: Nixon & Vanderhye, PC

20090217973 - Nanocrystal solar cells processed from solution: A photovoltaic device having a first electrode layer, a high resistivity transparent film disposed on the first electrode, a second electrode layer, and an inorganic photoactive layer disposed between the first and second electrode layers, wherein the inorganic photoactive layer is disposed in at least partial electrical contact with the... Agent: Townsend And Townsend And Crew, LLP

20090217974 - Organic active-layer solution for polymer solar cell and method for preparing the same: An organic active-layer solution for a polymer solar cell and a method for preparing the same are provided, wherein the organic active-layer solution comprises an organic active-layer material, a first organic solvent and a second organic solvent. The first organic solvent has a boiling point ranging from 50° C. to... Agent: Juan Carlos A. Marquez C/o Stites & Harbison PLLC

20090217977 - Photonic crystal architectures for frequency- and angle-selective thermal emitters: A photonic-crystal based frequency- and angle-selective absorber for solar TPV systems is provided. The solar radiation absorber includes at least one photonic crystal with absorptivity over a broad range of frequencies, improved absorptivity within a selected solid angle, and reduced absorptivity outside the selected solid angle.... Agent: Adams And Reese LLP

20090217976 - Solar cell with integrated thermally conductive and electrically insulating substrate: A solar cell package and processes for creating a solar cell package are disclosed. The solar cell includes an electrically insulating and thermally conductive first layer, an electrically conductive second layer attached to the first layer, and a solar cell attached to the second layer. The first layer surface and... Agent: Van Pelt, Yi & James LLP

20090217979 - Dye sensitization photoelectric converter: A dye sensitization photoelectric converter with enhanced light absorptance and photoelectric conversion efficiency is provided. A dye sensitization photoelectric converter 10 is chiefly configured of a transparent substrate 1 such as glass, a transparent electrode (negative electrode) 2 composed of a transparent conductive layer such as FTO (fluorine-doped tin(IV) oxide... Agent: Wolf Greenfield & Sacks, P.C.

20090217980 - Organic photoactive device: The invention relates to an organic photoactive device, especially an organic photovoltaic cell, with a contact and a countercontact as well as with an organic region that is electrically connected to the contact and the countercontact, wherein a photoactive region with a photoactive bulk heterojunction or a flat heterojunction between... Agent: Ostrolenk Faber Gerb & Soffen