The invention provides a seed layer paste for contacting a solar cell electrode with a low silver laydown and yet provides a higher voltage and a comparable solar efficiency. The seed layer paste includes: 1) a silver particle at 0.1-50 wt %; 2) at least one glass frit at 5-70 wt %; and 3) an organic vehicle at 20-95 wt %. The invention also provides a method of forming a solar cell by applying the seed layer paste of the invention to a surface of a silicon wafer to form a seed layer; applying on top of the seed layer a second composition containing a silver particle, at least one glass frit, and an organic vehicle; and firing the silicon wafer with the seed layer paste and the second composition.

The invention provides a seed layer paste for contacting a solar cell electrode with a low silver laydown and yet provides a higher voltage and a comparable solar efficiency. The seed layer paste includes: 1) a silver particle at 0.1-50 wt %; 2) at least one glass frit at 5-70 wt %; and 3) an organic vehicle at 20-95 wt %. The invention also provides a method of forming a solar cell by applying the seed layer paste of the invention to a surface of a silicon wafer to form a seed layer; applying on top of the seed layer a second composition containing a silver particle, at least one glass frit, and an organic vehicle; and firing the silicon wafer with the seed layer paste and the second composition.

An optical transducer system that has a light source and a transducer. The light source generates light that has a predetermined photon energy. The transducer has a bandgap energy that is smaller than the photon energy. An increased optical to electrical conversion efficiency is obtained by illuminating the transducer at increased optical power densities. A method of converting optical energy to electrical energy is also provided.

A silicon epitaxial wafer including: a second intermediate epitaxial layer on a silicon substrate produced by being cut from a silicon single crystal ingot grown by the CZ method so as to have a carbon concentration ranging from 310.sup.16 to 210.sup.17 atoms/cm.sup.3, a first intermediate epitaxial layer doped with a dopant, and an epitaxial layer of a device forming region stacked on the first intermediate epitaxial layer, and to a method of producing this wafer. Also providing an industrially excellent silicon epitaxial wafer that is produced with a silicon substrate doped with carbon and used as a semiconductor device substrate such as a memory, a logic, or a solid-state image sensor, and a method of producing this silicon epitaxial wafer.

A method of manufacturing a solar cell includes: forming a p-type surface and an n-type surface on the back surface of a photoelectric conversion unit; forming a base layer and a conductive layer above the p-type surface and the n-type surface; forming a resist film on the conductive layer, in a region corresponding to a separating groove; forming an n-side conductive layer and a p-side conductive layer and an n-side tin (Sn) layer and p-side Sn layer which include tin in stated order, by electroplating using, as a seed layer, the conductive layer on which the resist film is formed; forming an n-side metal layer and a p-side metal layer, which are alloyed with the n-side Sn layer and the p-side Sn layer, respectively, on the n-side Sn layer and the p-side Sn layer, respectively; and etching each of the conductive layer and the base layer.

A method of manufacturing a solar cell includes: forming a p-type surface and an n-type surface on the back surface of a photoelectric conversion unit; forming a base layer and a conductive layer above the p-type surface and the n-type surface; forming a resist film on the conductive layer, in a region corresponding to a separating groove; forming an n-side conductive layer and a p-side conductive layer and an n-side tin (Sn) layer and p-side Sn layer which include tin in stated order, by electroplating using, as a seed layer, the conductive layer on which the resist film is formed; forming an n-side metal layer and a p-side metal layer, which are alloyed with the n-side Sn layer and the p-side Sn layer, respectively, on the n-side Sn layer and the p-side Sn layer, respectively; and etching each of the conductive layer and the base layer.

A hybrid receiver for a concentrator photovoltaic-thermal power system combines a concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) module and a thermal module that converts concentrated sunlight into electrical energy and thermal heat. Heat transfer fluid flowing through a cooling block removes waste heat generated by photovoltaic cells in the CPV module. The heat transfer fluid then flows through a helical tube illuminated by sunlight that misses the CPV module. Only one fluid system is used to both remove the photovoltaic-cell waste heat and capture high-temperature thermal energy from sunlight. Fluid leaving the hybrid receiver can have a temperature greater than 200? C., and therefore may be used as a source of process heat for a variety of commercial and industrial applications. The hybrid receiver can maintain the photovoltaic cells at temperatures below 110? C. while achieving overall energy conversion efficiencies exceeding 80%.

An emission enhancement structure having at least one energy augmentation structure; and an energy converter capable of receiving energy from an energy source, converting the energy and emitting therefrom a light of a different energy than the received energy. The energy converter is disposed in a vicinity of the at least one energy augmentation structure such that the emitted light is emitted with an intensity larger than if the converter were remote from the at least one energy augmentation structure. Also described are various uses for the energy emitters, energy augmentation structures and energy collectors in a wide array of fields, such as color enhancement, and color enhancement structures containing the same.

An emission enhancement structure having at least one energy augmentation structure; and an energy converter capable of receiving energy from an energy source, converting the energy and emitting therefrom a light of a different energy than the received energy. The energy converter is disposed in a vicinity of the at least one energy augmentation structure such that the emitted light is emitted with an intensity larger than if the converter were remote from the at least one energy augmentation structure. Also described are various uses for the energy emitters, energy augmentation structures and energy collectors in a wide array of fields, such as color enhancement, and color enhancement structures containing the same.

A system and method are presented for the design and fabrication of arrays of vacuum photodiodes for application to solar power generation. In a preferred embodiment, each photodiode cell comprises a microfabricated enclosure with a hermetically sealed vacuum, an absorptive photocathode, and a transparent anode, wherein the photocathode and the anode are separated by a vacuum gap of less than about 20 micrometers. Light incident on the photocathode through the anode leads to a flux of electrons passing from the photocathode across the vacuum gap to the anode. In a further preferred embodiment, the photocathode is backed by a reflection layer with, e.g., controlled diffuse reflection, thus increasing the efficiency of energy extraction. An array of such cells may be manufactured using automated thin-film deposition and micromachining techniques.