The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 31, 2010
Filed:
Aug. 20, 2007
Somnath Nag, Saratoga, CA (US);
Mehrdad Moslehi, Los Altos, CA (US);
Somnath Nag, Saratoga, CA (US);
Mehrdad Moslehi, Los Altos, CA (US);
Solexel, Inc., Milpitas, CA (US);
Abstract
A Schottky contact photovoltaic energy conversion cell. The Schottky contact photovoltaic energy conversion cell comprises a flexible substrate and a first array of a plurality of closely-spaced microscale pillars connected to a first electrical cell contact. The pillars and the contact are formed of (or having a top) layer of a first Schottky metal material with a work function selected for efficiently collecting photogenerated electrons. The Schottky contact photovoltaic energy conversion cell further comprises a second array of a plurality of closely-spaced microscale pillars connected to a second electrical cell contact. The pillars and the contact are formed of (or having a top) layer of a second Schottky metal material with a work function selected for efficiently collecting photogenerated holes. The Schottky contact photovoltaic energy conversion cell further comprises a semiconductor absorber thin-film layer covering the first and second contacts and filling spaces among all the pillars, for creating photogenerated electrons and holes.