1366 Technologies, a Lexington, Mass.-based silicon photovoltaics company, has unveiled two technologies for multicrystalline silicon solar cells.
The company says its advancements in cell texturing and metallization deliver simpler, more commercially viable solutions for multicrystalline cell manufacturers striving to reach 18% efficiency. 1366 Technologies' Self-Aligned Cell architecture breaks the historic efficiency and cost tradeoff of photovoltaics by providing monocrystalline-equivalent cell efficiencies at multicrystalline cell costs.
The company's first development addresses cell texture, creating a distinctive honeycomb structure that introduces cross-textured surfaces to the cell that trap more light and enable up to 1% higher absolute efficiency overall than previous cell designs.
The second technology focuses on the front-side cell metallization, wherein the company says it has developed the world's finest metallization lines – just 30 microns, compared to the prevailing 120 microns – and a grooved-ribbon busbar (licensed by Ulbrich and Schlenk).
Industry standard thick fingers and flat busbars typically shade 9% of the surface of a cell. 1366 Technologies' simple front-side metallization approach, however, only shades 2% of the cell, delivering 75% of the efficiency gains of back-contact cell designs without the high costs and process complexity, the company explains.
1366 Technologies: (802) 595-5068
SOURCE: 1366 Technologies
