WORLD RECORD SOLAR

New World Record in Solar Cell Efficiency Achieved Using a Veeco MOCVD System
February 2, 2007 (CompoundSemi.com)
- Veeco Instruments Inc. announced today that its Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) technology enabled…a world record concentrator solar cell conversion efficiency of 40.7 percent. This solar cell conversion efficiency was achieved using a Veeco TurboDisc As/P MOCVD System, which deposits epitaxial films. Spectrolab, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company.

- The 40.7 percent efficient cell was developed using a multi-junction solar cell structure. This type of cell achieves a higher efficiency than single junction cells by capturing more of the solar spectrum and utilizing it more efficiently…
- According to the DOE, attaining a 40 percent efficient concentrating solar cell means having another technology pathway for producing cost-effective solar electricity. This breakthrough may lead to solar systems with an installation cost of only $3 per watt, or less, producing electricity at a cost of 8-10 cents per kilowatt/hour, making solar electricity a more cost-competitive and integral part of our nation's energy mix. Almost all of today's solar cell modules do not concentrate sunlight but use only what the sun produces naturally, what researchers call "one sun insolation," which achieves an efficiency of 12 to 18 percent. However, by using an optical concentrator, sunlight intensity can be increased, producing more electricity from a single solar cell.

- Engineered for the high-volume production of compound semiconductor materials, Veeco's TurboDisc As/P tools are quickly being adopted by the industry as the "tool of choice" for high volume production…The system offers a level of process control and reliability unmatched by competing MOCVD technologies…
- Reaching 40 percent efficiency helps further President Bush's Solar America Initiative (SAI) goals, which aims to win nationwide acceptance of clean solar energy technologies by 2015. By then, it is intended that America will have enough solar energy systems installed to provide power to one to two million homes, at a cost of 5 to 10 cents per kilowatt/hour…