Kopin Selected For
Award Of NASA Solar Cell Development Contract
(1 May 2008) Kopin Corp., the world's
leading provider of heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) wafers for cellular
phones and wireless local area networks, today announced that it has been
selected for the award of a US$ 600,000 solar cell development contract from
NASA.
The contract is the second phase of a Small Business
Technology Transfer (STTR) program to develop indium nitride (InN)-based
quantum dot solar cell technology. Kopin's partners on this NASA STTR project
include groups at Virginia Tech and Magnolia Optical Technologies.
"The
goal of this STTR program is to develop high-efficiency solar cells that are
resistant to extreme conditions while achieving high solar electric power
conversion efficiency," said Dr. Roger Welser, Kopin's Director of Technology
and New Product Development. "The advanced patent-pending solar cell structure
incorporating InN-based nanostructures can harness a very large fraction of the
solar spectrum while minimising the effects of high temperatures and
high-energy radiation. This technology will enable photovoltaic power systems
of future NASA space exploration missions to operate in extreme environments
with high temperature and radiation exposures."
Quantum-dot
nanostructures allow the spectral response and operating voltage of a solar
cell to be tailored in ways that are not possible with bulk semiconductor
materials. In particular, the wide range of energies accessible to InN-based
materials provides unique flexibility in designing quantum-dot solar cell
structures. Phase I work demonstrated device-quality InN-based quantum dots
exhibiting strong room-temperature photoluminescence, with peak emission
energies ranging from the infrared to the ultraviolet. During the Phase II
program, the InN-based quantum dots will be embedded within a higher band-gap
GaN barrier material to demonstrate high efficiency and immunity to extreme
environments.
"The innovative structure, together with Kopin's strength
in manufacturing large quantities of epitaxial materials, renders Kopin an
excellent choice for the NASA award," said Dr. John C.C. Fan, Kopin President
and Chief Executive Officer. "This STTR project is part of Kopin's long-term
goal to address the emerging terrestrial renewable energy market by realising
the ultimate objective of high conversion efficiency at low costs. Kopin is
currently exploring a number of options for synthesising high-performance
photovoltaic materials. Ultimately our approaches can provide pathways for
realising solar cells with power conversion efficiency approaching 60%, well
beyond the current state-of-the-art efficiency of 40%."
About
Kopin
Kopin Corporation produces lightweight, power-efficient,
ultra-small liquid crystal displays and heterojunction bipolar transistors
(HBTs) that are revolutionising the way people around the world see, hear and
communicate. Kopin has shipped more than 20 million displays for a range of
consumer and military applications including digital cameras, personal video
eyewear, camcorders, thermal weapon sights and night vision systems. The
Company's unique HBTs, which help to enhance battery life, talk time and signal
clarity, have been integrated into billions of wireless handsets as well as
into WiFi, VoIP and high-speed Internet data transmission systems. Kopin's
proprietary display and HBT technologies are protected by more than 200 global
patents and patents pending.
(source: Kopin)
