Konarka Technologies, Inc. successfully conducted the first-ever manufacturing demonstration of solar cells by inkjet printing, according to a company release.
The company, headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts, said the demonstration confirms that organic solar cells can be processed with printing technologies with little or no loss compared to "clean room" semiconductor technologies such as spin coating.
The most popular printing tool for organic electronics, inkjet printing could become a smart tool to manufacturer solar cells with multiple colors and patterns for lower power requirement products, like indoor or sensor applications. Inkjet printing is considered promising because the polymer devices can be fabricated very easily, and it does not require additional patterning.
Inkjet printing is a commonly used technique for controlled deposition of solutions of functional materials in specific locations on a substrate and can provide easy and fast deposition of polymer films over a large area.
"Demonstrating the use of inkjet printing technology as a fabrication tool for highly efficient solar cells and sensors with small area requirements is a major milestone," commented Rick Hess, president and CEO at Konarka. "This essential breakthrough in the field of printed solar cells positions Konarka as an emerging leader in printed photovoltaics."
Konarka analyzes the performance of inkjet printed organic bulk heterojunction solar cells in a paper recently published in Advanced Materials, entitled, "High Photovoltaic Performance of Inkjet Printed Polymer:Fullerene Blends" by Dr. Stelios A. Choulis, Claudia N. Hoth, Dr. Pavel Schilinsky and Dr. Christoph J. Brabec, all of Konarka.
About Konarka Technologies, Inc.
Konarka builds products that convert light to energy. As a leading developer of polymer photovoltaic technology that provide a source of renewable power in a variety of form factors for commercial, industrial, government and consumer applications, Konarka has a broad portfolio of patents, technology licenses. The Company’s Power Plastic® technology is focused on delivering lightweight, flexible, scalable and manufacturable products. Konarka Technologies is headquartered in Lowell, Mass., with European headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, business development offices in Asia and a research and development facility in Austria.
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