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:
Apr. 25, 2017
Filed:
Sep. 21, 2010
Lawrence A. Clevenger, Hopewell Junction, NY (US);
Rainer Krause, Mainz, DE;
Zhengwen LI, Hopewell Junction, NY (US);
Gerd Pfeiffer, Hopewell Junction, NY (US);
Kevin Prettyman, Hopewell Junction, NY (US);
Brian C. Sapp, Hopewell Junction, NY (US);
Lawrence A. Clevenger, Hopewell Junction, NY (US);
Rainer Krause, Mainz, DE;
Zhengwen Li, Hopewell Junction, NY (US);
Gerd Pfeiffer, Hopewell Junction, NY (US);
Kevin Prettyman, Hopewell Junction, NY (US);
Brian C. Sapp, Hopewell Junction, NY (US);
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for restoring efficiency of a photovoltaic cell. An illumination module illuminates photovoltaic cells so the cells receive a time integrated irradiance equivalent to at least 5 hours of solar illumination. After illumination, an annealing module anneals the photovoltaic cells at a temperature above 90 degrees Celsius for a minimum of 10 minutes. In one embodiment, the illumination module illuminates the photovoltaic cells for a time integrated irradiance equivalent to at least 20 hours of solar illumination. In another embodiment, the illumination module illuminates the photovoltaic cells for a time integrated irradiance equivalent to at least 16 hours of solar illumination while being heated to at least 50 degrees Celsius. In another embodiment, a solar concentrator irradiates the photovoltaic cells in sunlight for at least 10 hours and increases the irradiance of solar illumination on the cells by a factor of 2 to 5.