Concrete solar cell

US5672214A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• State of Oregon acting by and through the State Board of Higher Ed. on Behalf of Oregon State Univ. · US

Inventors

• John R. Arthur · Grovetown, US
• Robert Kurt Graupner · Santa Clara, US
• Tyrus K. Monson · Corvallis, US
• James A. Van Vechten · Fryeburg, US
• Ernest G. Wolff · Lomita, US

Key dates

• Filing date: May 15, 1995
• Grant date: Sep 30, 1997
• Expiry date: May 15, 2015

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y02P70/50

Abstract

An inexpensive, robust concrete solar cell (10) comprises a photovoltaic material embedded in and extending beyond front and rear major surfaces (18 and 16) of a matrix layer (14). The matrix layer typically comprises a high-strength, cementitious material, such as a macrodefect-free cement, reinforced with electrically nonconductive fibers (54) distributed throughout the matrix layer. The photovoltaic material comprises particles (12) of high-resistivity single crystal silicon, typically ball milled from ingot sections unsuitable for slicing into silicon wafers. An aluminum sheet (28) attached to the rear major surface provides electrical contact to one of two electrical region (22 and 24) of the semiconductor particle, and a translucent conductive layer (30) on the front major surface provides electrical contacts to the second electrical region. Overlapping electrically conductive reinforcing fibers (52) are embedded at the front major surface of the matrix layer to decrease the sheet resistivity of the surface and to inhibit the formation of surface cracks. Digitated electrode (32) further improves surface conductivity for conducting current off the cell. A voltage is generated …