Sunovia Energy and EPIR partner in next-generation cadmium telluride solar cell development
March 11, 2008, Sarasota, FL and Bolingbrook, IL--Sunovia Energy Technologies and EPIR Technologies are partnering to develop the most advanced cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells. According to Sunovia and EPIR, the top experts and leading institutions in the world for CdTe now reside with the companies.
The solar industry is currently dominated by the use of silicon (Si); however CdTe is growing rapidly in acceptance and now represents the second most utilized solar cell material in the world. Cadmium telluride is also referred to in general terms as a II-VI material because it combines a group two element in the periodic table with a group six element. An extensive knowledge of how to use and combine II-VI materials with Si is critical to accelerating the development of highly efficient, low-cost solar cell systems. The companies have achieved this by securing a world class team of scientist and engineers who have proven their expertise in II-VI materials through the research, development and production of highly efficient II-VI infrared sensors for the military and commercial markets.
Infrared sensors rely heavily on unique CdTe-based II-VI semiconductors to efficiently convert light into electricity. EPIR's expertise in II-VI materials, under the leadership of Siva Sivananthan, has been proven over the past decade and is being transferred to next-generation solar cells and unique manufacturing techniques which will place the companies on the cutting edge of solar-based renewable energy technologies. Sivananthan, the president of EPIR and the director of the Microphysics Laboratory (MPL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has pioneered the molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) growth of CdTe on Si since 1984 and is a recognized world leader in this field.
Now EPIR and Sunovia are partnered as one, with plans to use CdTe to greatly enhance the efficiency of Si solar cells and to go even further to produce ultrahigh-efficiency solar cells at a reduced price.
For more information, visit www.sunoviaenergy.com.