A moldable photovoltaic module is provided. The module includes a flexible polymeric flex-circuit substrate having an electrically conductive printed wiring pattern and solder pads defined on it. Small photovoltaic cells are affixed to the flex-circuit substrate by back-surface contacts in electrical contact with the solder pads. At least one thermoformable polymeric film is joined to the flex-circuit substrate. Each said solder pad comprises a solder composition that, after an initial melt, has a melting point that lies above at least a portion of the temperature range for thermoforming the polymeric film.

Techniques for enhancing the absorption of photons in semiconductors with the use of microstructures are described. The microstructures, such as pillars and/or holes, effectively increase the effective absorption length resulting in a greater absorption of the photons. Using microstructures for absorption enhancement for silicon photodiodes and silicon avalanche photodiodes can result in bandwidths in excess of 10 Gb/s at photons with wavelengths of 850 nm, and with quantum efficiencies of approximately 90% or more.

An integrated laminate structure adapted for application in the context of solar technology, wafer technology, cooling channels, greenhouse illumination, window illumination, street lighting, traffic lighting, traffic reflectors or security films, includes a first carrier element such as a piece of plastic or glass, optionally having optically substantially transparent material enabling light transmission therethrough, a second carrier element provided with at least one surface relief pattern including a number of surface relief forms and having at least one predetermined optical function relative to incident light, the second carrier element optionally including optically substantially transparent material enabling light transmission therethrough, the first and second carrier elements being laminated together such that the at least one surface relief pattern has been embedded within the established laminate structure and a number of related cavities have been formed at the interface of the first and second carrier elements. An applicable method of manufacture is presented.

The invention relates to a hybrid solar panel comprising: a photovoltaic module; a heat exchanger arranged opposite in the rear surface of said photovoltaic module; a cooling fluid circulating in said exchanger; the heat exchanger including a heat exchange area; inner channels extending over the entire surface of the exchange area; the heat exchange area is made up of a double cellular plate with cells provided in the form of adjacent inner channels in fluid communication with the intake and discharge areas, characterised in that: the side ends are sealed; the plate comprises openings made in the lower wall in order to establish fluid communication between each channel and the intake and discharge areas, respectively; and the intake and discharge areas are provided in the form of collectors placed on the lower wall at the openings, so that said upper wall remains planar over the entire surface thereof.

There is provided a light trapping dynamic photovoltaic module having a module surface configured to be exposed to solar rays, including a plurality of photovoltaic cell stacks configured adjacent to each other throughout the module surface, wherein each photovoltaic cell stack comprises a plurality of photovoltaic cells. Further, a plurality of reflective strips are placed in between each of the photovoltaic cell stacks for continuously reflecting incident solar rays from one reflective strip to another until absorbed by a photovoltaic cell among said plurality of photovoltaic cells, wherein the incident solar rays are continuously reflected through a mirror phenomenon, wherein the incident solar rays are additionally reflected by front and back panels of the dynamic photovoltaic module, thereby trapping incident solar rays within boundaries of the dynamic photovoltaic module for conversion into electrical energy. Also disclosed is a method of manufacturing the light trapping photovoltaic module.

The invention relates to a concentrator photovoltaic module comprising a housing, a photovoltaic chip, at least two electrical contacts for contacting the photovoltaic chip, and a transparent cover. The housing has a recess forming a receiving tray with a recessed bottom portion for receiving the photovoltaic chip. The receiving tray has side walls with at least a first and a second reflective region. The first reflective region is oriented at a first angle with respect to a horizontal plane of the housing and the second reflective region is oriented at a second angle with respect to the horizontal plane of the housing. The first angle is different from the second angle.

The present disclosure relates to compound parabolic concentrators. In one implementation, a compound parabolic concentrator may include a parabolic array having a base, a side wall, and an aperture for receiving light and a dielectric layer having a refractive index. In another implementation, a stacked compound parabolic concentrator may include a parabolic array having a base, a side wall, and an aperture for receiving light and multiple dielectric layers within the array. Each dielectric layer may have a refractive index, and the refractive index may decrease with each dielectric layer moving from the base of the parabolic array to the light receiving aperture.

A reflector including a substrate and a plurality of alternating layers of two materials having different indices of refraction disposed on the substrate, wherein the reflector exhibits a central peak in reflectance vs wavelength and the reflectance of the high-energy side-lobes is increased in intensity and the reflectance of the low-energy side-lobes is reduced in intensity and method for making the reflector is disclosed.

A system for distilling water is disclosed. The system comprises a heat source, and a plurality of open-cycle adsorption stages, each stage comprising a plurality of beds and an evaporator and a condenser between a first bed and a second bed, wherein each bed comprises at least two vapor valves, a plurality of hollow tubes, a plurality of channels adapted for transferring water vapor to and from at least one of the condenser or the evaporator, a thermally conductive water vapor adsorbent, and wherein each vapor valve connects a bed to either the condenser or the evaporator.

An embodiment includes a method of texturing a semiconductor substrate, a semiconductor substrate manufactured using the method, and a solar cell including the semiconductor substrate, the method including: forming metal nanoparticles on a semiconductor substrate, primarily etching the semiconductor substrate, removing the metal nanoparticles, and secondarily etching the primarily etched semiconductor substrate to form nanostructures.