Light energy conversion
US4136436A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 2, 1976 |
| Grant date | Jan 30, 1979 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 2, 1996 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S204/03
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A process for the manufacture of a light energy converter involves forming of a plurality of photovoltaic sources wherein first bodies of a first conductivity type semiconductor material each has a surface layer of a second conductivity type material and second bodies of said second conductivity type semiconductor material each has a surface layer of said first conductivity type material. The first and second bodies are intermingled in a one level layer in an insulating support. A conductive layer is applied to interconnect the first conductivity type material of all said first bodies with the second conductivity type material of all said second bodies. An electrolyte may wet such sources where, upon exposure to light, the sources cause a current to flow in the electrolyte producing an electrochemical reaction. The products of this reaction where the electrolyte is a solution such as aqueous hydrogen iodide, and the hydrogen produced by the electrochemical reaction may be stored, burned as a fuel or used in a fuel cell to produce electrical energy.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.