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:
Jun. 09, 2015
Filed:
May. 07, 2012
Ramakrishnan Kalyanaraman, Knoxville, TN (US);
Veena Gopal Krishnan, Knoxville, TN (US);
Hernando Garcia, Freehold, NJ (US);
Gerd Duscher, Knoxville, TN (US);
Abhinav Malasi, Knoxville, TN (US);
Ramakrishnan Kalyanaraman, Knoxville, TN (US);
Veena Gopal Krishnan, Knoxville, TN (US);
Hernando Garcia, Freehold, NJ (US);
Gerd Duscher, Knoxville, TN (US);
Abhinav Malasi, Knoxville, TN (US);
SunJoule Materials, Inc., Knoxville, TN (US);
Abstract
A hollow photovoltaic fiber. The hollow photovoltaic fiber includes semiconductor formed on the inner surface of a hollow tube or on a flexible substrate subsequently formed into a hollow tube. The hollow photovoltaic fiber is suitable a variety of semiconductor devices, including solar cells. Light entering the hollow photovoltaic fiber deposits energy in the semiconductor as it travel through the tube. The hollow photovoltaic fiber exhibits improved energy conversion efficiency over planar thin film solar cells due to the large semiconductor surface area and longer light travel path provided by the tube. Embodiments of the hollow photovoltaic fiber are lightweight and flexible allowing the creation of non-planar solar cells and the applications for solar cells to extend into such areas as the manufacture of photovoltaic textiles or photovoltaic non-woven fabrics.