Thursday, August 18, 2011

US Patent 7999176 - CNT junction for solar cells

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7999176.html

This patent is from Vanguard Solar and teaches a solar cell structure including carbon nanotubes to improve photoelectric conversion efficiency. Claim 1 reads:

1. A photovoltaic device, comprising:

a first semiconductor layer; and

a second light-responsive layer forming a junction with the first layer, the junction including a depletion region;

wherein the second layer includes a mesh of carbon nanostructures at least partially embedded therein to provide a conductive path out of the second layer to an electrical contact, and the second layer is spaced apart from the electrical contact and a plurality of the carbon nanostructures extend therebetween.

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