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Magnolia Solar has been granted a US$750,000 Phase II award from the United States Air Force under its Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programme. The two-year programme aims to develop ultra-high efficiency, thin-film solar cells for space power applications.
Magnolia Solar plans to use the STTR funding to build out nanostructured solar cells that it says have the potential to provide ultra-high efficiencies in single-junction devices. The company advised that it believes that single-junction solar cells are less complex than multi-junction cells and efficiencies have the potential to reach around 50% in un-concentrated sunlight.
Dr. Ashok Sood, president and CEO of Magnolia Solar, stated, "We are working to improve the efficiency of photovoltaic devices via novel materials combined with innovative device designs. Quantum dot structures with excellent structural and optical properties were demonstrated during the Phase I program and are intended to be incorporated into advanced photovoltaic devices during the Phase II effort. These structures have the potential to enable photovoltaic devices to reach new levels of performance for power output efficiency."
