A flexible laminated solar cell comprising a CIGS photovoltaic layer having two opposing generally flat first and second parallel surfaces; a first encapsulation layer placed on each of said first and second parallel surfaces; an encapsulation vapor barrier film placed on each of said first encaption layers; a second encapsulation layer placed on said encapsulation vapor barrier films; and a third encapsulation layer placed on at least one of said second encapsulation layers. The laminated structure with encapsulation layers protects the CIGS photovoltaic layer against moisture and atmospheric pollutants. The CIGS laminated structure is used in a versatile portable solar charger provided with user interfaces to monitor and control the charger and devices or features contained therein.

An energy storage device comprising a substrate comprising a groove having a first and a second face. A capacitor material in the groove. The first and the second face of the groove having a coat of metal. Wherein the coat of metal on the first face is not in electrical contact with the coat of metal on the second face.

An energy storage device comprising a substrate comprising a groove having a first and a second face. A capacitor material in the groove. The first and the second face of the groove having a coat of metal. Wherein the coat of metal on the first face is not in electrical contact with the coat of metal on the second face.

A modulating circuit adapted to modulate between an energy harvesting mode and a wireless transmitter mode is disclosed which includes a solar cell, an energy-harvesting circuit, a first switch coupling the solar cell to the energy harvesting circuit and controlled by a first control line, a second switch coupling the solar cell to a programmable current source and controlled by a second control line, a transmitter/energy harvesting mode circuit adapted to select between a transmitter mode and an energy harvesting mode, and a symbol-to-current mapping circuit adapted to encode data to be communicated by the solar cell, the symbol-to-current mapping circuit adapted to adjust the programmable current source to thereby provide a metered current to the solar cell.

A thermoelectric recycling structure has a heat-conductive first component for engaging a heat source for receiving heat generated therefrom, a second component spaced from the first component, and a heat-nonconductive and electrons-and-holes-transportive thermoelectric layer sandwiched between the first and second components for receiving the heat from the first component and converting the received heat to electrical power.

A semiconductor structure may include semiconductor devices located on a substrate, metal interconnect structures that are located within dielectric material layers overlying the semiconductor devices and are electrically connected to the semiconductor devices, and an energy harvesting device located over the metal interconnect structures and comprising a Schottky barrier diode, a first diode electrode located on a first side of the Schottky barrier diode, and a second diode electrode connected to a second side of the Schottky barrier diode

A semiconductor structure may include semiconductor devices located on a substrate, metal interconnect structures that are located within dielectric material layers overlying the semiconductor devices and are electrically connected to the semiconductor devices, and an energy harvesting device located over the metal interconnect structures and comprising a Schottky barrier diode, a first diode electrode located on a first side of the Schottky barrier diode, and a second diode electrode connected to a second side of the Schottky barrier diode

A multi-layer apparatus has a transparent or semi-transparent substrate, a solar-cell layer coupled to the substrate, an energy-storage layer coupled to the solar-cell layer, and a converter layer coupled to the energy-storage layer. The solar-cell layer has a plurality of solar cells for receiving light through the substrate and converting energy of the received light to a first electrical energy, the energy-storage layer has one or more energy-storage units for storing a second electrical energy, and the converter layer has one or more power converters electrically connected to the solar-cell layer and the energy-storage layer for receiving the first electrical energy and the second electrical energy therefrom and outputting a third electrical energy via an output thereof.

A multi-power source system including a first power source, a second power source in a parallel with the first power source, and a diode preventing power from the second power source to drive the first power source but permitting the first power source to charge the second power source. The system also includes a controller operably coupled to both the first and second power sources, and a plurality of field effect transistor (FETs) arranged in series with one or more of the first power source, the second power source, and the load, wherein controller can switch the plurality of FETs to enable the first power source to drive the load or the second power source to drive the load.

A multi-power source system including a first power source, a second power source in a parallel with the first power source, and a diode preventing power from the second power source to drive the first power source but permitting the first power source to charge the second power source. The system also includes a controller operably coupled to both the first and second power sources, and a plurality of field effect transistor (FETs) arranged in series with one or more of the first power source, the second power source, and the load, wherein controller can switch the plurality of FETs to enable the first power source to drive the load or the second power source to drive the load.