Abstract: This disclosure relates to a polymer that includes a first comonomer repeat unit containing a benzothiadiazole moiety, a thiophene oxide moiety, a cyclopentadithiophene oxide moiety, a thiadiazoloquinoxaline moiety, a benzoisothiazole moiety, a benzothiazole moiety, a thienothiophene moiety, a thienothiophene oxide moiety, a dithienothiophene moiety, a dithienothiophene oxide moiety, or a tetrahydroisoindole moiety. The polymer can be used as a photoactive material in a photovoltaic cell. This disclosure also relates to such photovoltaic cells, as well as modules containing such photovoltaic cells.

Abstract: It is desirable to provide a variable light condensing lens apparatus and a solar cell apparatus provided therewith in a simple configuration, yet capable of reducing dependency of light condensing efficiency on the angle of incidence of light and thereby improving power generation efficiency of the solar cell apparatus. The variable light condensing lens apparatus according to the present disclosure is provided with a translucent support having a hydrophilic photocatalyst on a surface thereof and a first translucent liquid supported on the surface of the translucent support in contact therewith and the solar cell apparatus according to the present disclosure is provided with a solar cell element, a pair of electrodes connected to the solar cell element and the variable light condensing apparatus according to the present disclosure disposed opposed to the solar cell element.

Abstract: A method is provided for treating silica sand scrubs (SSS) generated and accumulated as waste in the chloride manufacturing process of titanium dioxide pigment. A hydrothermal process is used to produce sodium silicate solutions of modulus 3.0 to 3.8, and precipitated silicas. In some embodiments, the process uses two specific principal reaction stages. A sodium silicate solution having a low SiO2:Na2O molar ratio, in the range from 2.0 to 2.8, is first produced by reaction of the SSS, as a cost-effective SiO2 source, with aqueous caustic soda. The conversion of this intermediate sodium silicate solution of low modulus to a high SiO2:Na2O molar ratio is made possible by using a SiO2 source that is prepared as precipitated amorphous silica from the intermediate sodium silicate solution produced above.

Abstract: A solar battery module as a panel-shaped semiconductor module comprises multiple spherical or nearly spherical, granular electric power generation semiconductor elements arranged in multiple rows and columns, a conductive connection mechanism electrically connecting in parallel multiple semiconductor elements in each row and connecting in series multiple semiconductor elements in each column, and a conductive inner metal case housing the multiple semiconductor elements and constituting the conductive connection mechanism, wherein each row of semiconductor elements is housed in each reflecting surface-forming groove of the inner metal case, the positive electrodes of the semiconductor electrodes are connected to the bottom plate and the negative electrodes are connected to finger leads, the bottom plate of each reflecting surface-forming grove has a cutoff slit, and the top is covered with a transparent cover member.

Abstract: The battery includes a cover assembly on a battery case. The cover assembly includes a battery cover coupled with an electrically insulating flap of material. The battery can include a first electrical connector that provides electrical communication between a terminal in the cover and one or more first electrodes in the battery. The first connector is at least partially positioned between a first region of the flap and a second region of the flap. The battery can also includes a second electrical connector that provides electrical communication between the cover and one or more second electrodes in the battery. The second connector passes between the flap and the case such that a portion of the flap is between the first connector and the second connector.

Abstract: The present disclosure presents a partially-transparent (see-through) three-dimensional thin film solar cell (3-D TFSC) substrate. The substrate includes a plurality of unit cells. Each unit cell structure has the shape of a truncated pyramid, and its parameters may be varied to allow a desired portion of sunlight to pass through.

Abstract: Devices and methods for collecting solar energy using photovoltaic material are disclosed.

Abstract: A coating comprising a polymer (I)-containing coating component and colloidal silica (II) of 60 nm or less average particle diameter, wherein 0.5 to 20 parts by mass, in terms of solid content, of colloidal silica (II) is contained per 100 parts by mass of polymer (I) and wherein the area of colloidal silica exposed from the surface of the coating occupies 35% or more based on the coating surface. This coating exhibits excellent antifouling performance and excels in transparency, weather resistance, water resistance, and elongation degree.

Abstract: Provided is a solar cell in which a linear n finger electrode and a linear p finger electrode are alternately arranged on a projection plane parallel to a main surface of a substrate, and which is arranged in a predetermined arrangement direction, including an n-side bus bar electrode connected to the n finger electrode and insulated from the p finger electrode and a p-side bus bar electrode connected to the p finger electrode and insulated from the n finger electrode. The n-side bus bar electrode and the p-side bus bar electrode are provided on a same main surface side of the substrate, intersect with the n finger electrode and the p finger electrode respectively on the projection plane, and have a slope angle relative to the predetermined arrangement direction.

Abstract: Examples of device structures utilizing layers of rare earth oxides to perform the tasks of strain engineering in transitioning between semiconductor layers of different composition and/or lattice orientation and size are given. A structure comprising a plurality of semiconductor layers separated by transition layer(s) comprising two or more rare earth compounds operable as a sink for structural defects is disclosed.

Abstract: An electrical or electro-optical device (100) includes a first layer (110) having a first composition. The first composition includes a plurality of electrically connected particles. A second layer (130) has a second composition, the second composition including a plurality of electrically connected particles. A composite layer (120) is disposed between the first and second layer. The composite layer is an interpenetrated network of a third and a fourth composition, wherein the third composition is different from the fourth composition. A first electrically interconnected network extends from the first composition in the first layer (110) to the third composition throughout a thickness of the composite layer (120), and a second electrically interconnected network extends from the second composition in the second layer (130) to the fourth composition throughout the thickness of the composite layer.

Abstract: A semiconductor device is provided, which comprises a first electrode, crystalline semiconductor particles, a semiconductor layer, and a second electrode. The crystalline semiconductor particles of which adjacent particles are fusion-bonded, the crystalline semiconductor particles have a first conductivity type, and the semiconductor layer has a second conductivity type which is different from the first conductivity type.

Abstract: Disclosed is a porous electrode comprising a porous film (A) with through pores and an electrically conducting material selected from the group consisting of conductor and semiconductor, the porous film (A) having an average pore size d1 of from 0.02 to 3 ?m and a porosity of from 40 to 90%, the electrically conducting material being filled in the through pores of the porous film (A). A dye-sensitized solar cell and an electric double layer capacitor including the porous electrode as a constituent are also disclosed.

Abstract: Processes for fabricating a contact grid for a photovoltaic cell generally includes providing a photovoltaic cell having an antireflective coating disposed on a sun facing side, the photovoltaic cell comprising a silicon substrate having a p-n junction; soft stamping a pattern of a UV sensitive photoresist and/or polymer onto the antireflective coating; exposing the UV sensitive photoresist and/or polymer to ultraviolet radiation to cure the UV sensitive photoresist and/or polymer; etching the pattern to form openings in the antireflective coating that define the contact grid; stripping the UV sensitive photoresist and/or polymer; and depositing a conductive metal into the openings defined by the pattern. The metal based paste can be aluminum based, which can be annealed at a relatively low temperature.

Abstract: A thermoelectric material comprises core-shell particles having a core formed from a core material and a shell formed from a shell material. In representative examples, the shell material is a material showing an appreciable thermoelectric effect in bulk. The core material preferably has a lower thermal conductivity than the shell material. In representative examples, the core material is an inorganic oxide such as silica or alumina, and the shell material is a chalcogenide semiconductor such as a telluride, for example bismuth telluride. A thermoelectric material including such core-shell particles may have an improved thermoelectric figure of merit compared with a bulk sample of the shell material alone. Embodiments of the invention further include thermoelectric devices using such thermoelectric materials, and preparation techniques.

Abstract: New thermoelectric materials comprise highly [111]-oriented twinned group IV alloys on the basal plane of trigonal substrates, which exhibit a high thermoelectric figure of merit and good material performance, and devices made with these materials.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a direct methanol fuel cell includes an anode having a current collector and a catalyst layer formed on the current collector, a cathode having a current collector and a catalyst layer formed on the current collector, and an electrolyte membrane placed between the catalyst layers of the anode and the cathode. The anode-side catalyst layer includes a catalyst and a sheet-like organic compound consisting of a plurality of molecules having an aliphatic cyclic skeleton in which two carbon atoms are bonded to a cationic functional group and an anionic functional group, respectively. The sheet-like organic compound has a layered branch structure in which the molecules are layered by bonding different ions of the aliphatic cyclic skeleton to one another so that the molecules are displaced from one another, and a plurality of units each having the layered branch structure are present in the catalyst layer.

Abstract: The use of rare-earth (RE and O, N, P) based materials to transition between two different semiconductor materials and enable up and/or down conversion of incident radiation is disclosed. Rare earth based oxides, nitrides and phosphides provide a wide range of lattice spacing enabling, compressive, tensile or stress-free lattice matching with Group IV, III-V, and Group II-VI compounds.

Abstract: The use of rare-earth (RE+O, N, P) based materials to transition between two semiconductor materials is disclosed. Rare earth based oxides, nitrides and phosphides provide a wide range of lattice spacings enabling, compressive, tensile or stress-free lattice matching with Group IV, III-V, and Group II-VI compounds. Disclosed embodiments include tandem solar cells.

Abstract: The use of rare-earth (REO, N, P) based materials to covert long wavelength photons to shorter wavelength photons that can be absorbed in a photovoltaic device (up-conversion) and (REO, N, P) materials which can absorb a short wavelength photon and re-emit one (downshifting) or more longer wavelength photons is disclosed. The wide spectral range of sunlight overlaps with a multitude of energy transitions in rare-earth materials, thus offering multiple up-conversion pathways. The refractive index contrast of rare-earth materials with silicon enables a DBR with >90% peak reflectivity and a stop band greater than 150 nm.