{"id":7655,"date":"2013-04-17T09:22:41","date_gmt":"2013-04-17T16:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=7655"},"modified":"2013-04-17T09:23:43","modified_gmt":"2013-04-17T16:23:43","slug":"peel-and-stick-solar-cells-make-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/peel-and-stick-solar-cells-make-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"Peel-and-Stick Solar Cells Make Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

The U. S. Department of Energy\u2019s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Stanford University have teamed up to create what may be the thinnest of thin solar cells \u2013 a peel-and-stick decal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One micron thick, the decal-like \u00a0peel-and-stick, or water-assisted transfer printing (WTP), technologies were developed by Stanford researchers and have been used for nanowire based electronics.\u00a0 Meeting at a conference where both made presentations, Stanford\u2019s Xiaolin Zheng<\/a> talked about her peel-and-stick technology, and NREL principal scientist Qi Wang<\/a> spoke on his team\u2019s research in thin-film amorphous solar cells.<\/p>\n

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Peel-and-Stick solar cells can operate even with a 10-mm curvature<\/p><\/div>\n

Zheng realized that the NREL had the type of solar cells needed for her peel-and-stick project, according to the NREL announcement.<\/p>\n

The NREL press release explains, \u201cThe university and NREL showed that thin-film solar cells less than one-micron thick can be removed from a silicon substrate used for fabrication by dipping them in water at room temperature. Then, after exposure to heat of about 90\u00b0C for a few seconds, they can attach to almost any surface.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Thin Film Solar Cell (TFSC) Peel-and-Stick processing takes place at low temperatures, denoting low-cost manufacturing<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cNREL\u2019s cells could be made easily on Stanford\u2019s peel off substrate. NREL\u2019s amorphous silicon cells were fabricated on nickel-coated Si\/SiO2 wafers. A thermal release tape attached to the top of the solar cell serves as a temporary transfer holder. An optional transparent protection layer is spin-casted in between the thermal tape and the solar cell to prevent contamination when the device is dipped in water. The result is a thin strip much like a bumper sticker: the user can peel off the handler and apply the solar cell directly to a surface.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Wang reports the ability to peel the test cells with no degradation in performance.\u00a0 Zheng noted that the cells can be applied to almost any surface \u201cbecause almost no fabrication is required on the final carrier substrates.\u201d\u00a0 Applications include decal-like logos for windows, business cards that can power small electronic devices, and flexible panels that can be attached to cell phones, PDAs, and other portable devices.\u00a0 The future may hold larger applications. \u00a0Future cells may be processed at higher temperatures and offer more power.<\/p>\n

NREL<\/a> is the U.S. Department of Energy’s primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Thanks to Colin Rush for the lead to this story.<\/p>\n