An apparatus and method pertaining to a perpetual energy harvester. The harvester absorbs ambient infrared radiation and provides continual power regardless of the environment. The device seeks to harvest the largely overlooked blackbody radiation through use of a semiconductor thermal harvester.

A versatile silicone resin reflective substrate which exhibits high reflectance of high luminance light from an LED light source over a wide wavelength from short wavelengths of approximately 340-500 nm, which include wavelengths from 380-400 nm near lower limit of the visible region, to longer wavelength in the infra-red region. The silicone resin reflective substrate has a reflective layer which contains a white inorganic filler powder dispersed in a three-dimensional cross linked silicone resin, the inorganic filler powder having a high reflective index than the silicone resin. The reflective layer is formed on a support body as a film, a solid, or a sheet. The silicone resin reflective substrate can be easily formed as a wiring substrate, a packaging case or the like, and can be manufactured at low cost and a high rate of production.

A nanostructured or microstructured array of elements on a conductor layer together form a device electrode of a photovoltaic or detector structure. The array on the conductor layer has a high surface area to volume ratio configuration defining a void matrix between elements. An active layer or active layer precursors is disposed into the void matrix as a liquid to form a thickness coverage giving an interface on which a counter-electrode is positioned parallel to the conduction layer or as a vapor to form a conformal thickness coverage of the array and conduction layer. The thickness coverage is controlled to enhance collection of at least one of electrons and holes arising from photogeneration, or excitons arising from photogeneration, to the device electrode or a device counter-electrode as well as light absorption in said active layer via reflection and light trapping of said device electrode.

An optical semiconductor device comprises, on a substrate, a fin of diamond-cubic semiconductor material and, at the base of the fin, a slab of that semiconductor material, in a diamond-hexagonal structure, that extends over the full width of the fin, the slab being configured as an optically active material. This semiconductor material can contain silicon. A method for manufacturing the optical semiconductor device comprises annealing the sidewalls of the fin, thereby inducing a stress gradient along the width of the fin.

A back contact back junction thin-film solar cell is formed on a thin-film semiconductor solar cell. Preferably the thin film semiconductor material comprises crystalline silicon. Base regions, emitter regions, and front surface field regions are formed through ion implantation and annealing processes.

A graphene device and a method of operating the same are provided. The graphene device includes: an active layer including a plurality of meta atoms spaced apart from each other, each of the meta atoms having a radial shape, and a graphene layer that contacts each of the plurality of meta atoms; and a dielectric layer covering the active layer.

A method for manufacturing a back-contact solar cell, comprising the steps of: (i) preparing a semiconductor substrate comprising an n-layer and a p-layer at the back side of the semiconductor substrate; (ii) applying a conductive paste on both the n-layer and the p-layer, wherein the conductive paste comprises a silver (Ag) powder, a palladium (Pd) powder, an additional metal powder selected from the group consisting of molybdenum (Mo), boron (B) and a mixture thereof, a glass frit, and an organic medium; and (iii) firing the applied conductive paste.

Disclosed is a photo detector. The photo detector includes: a conductive substrate; an insulating layer formed on the conductive substrate; a single-layer graphene formed at one part of an upper end of the insulating layer and formed in one layer; a multi-layer graphene formed at the other part of the upper end of the insulating layer and formed in multiple layers; a first electrode formed at an end of the single-layer graphene; and a second electrode formed at an end of the multi-layer graphene.

This solar cell module (1) comprises a plurality of solar cell arrays (11). Each solar cell array (11) includes a plurality of spherical semiconductor elements (20) arranged in a row, at least a pair of bypass diodes (40), and a pair of lead members (14) that connect the plurality of spherical semiconductor elements (20) and the plurality of bypass diodes (40) in parallel. Each of the lead members (14) includes one or plural lead strings (15) to which the plurality of spherical semiconductor elements (20) are electrically connected and having a width less than or equal to the radius of the spherical semiconductor element (20), and plural lead pieces (16) formed integrally with the lead strings (15) at least at both end portions of the lead member (14), on which the bypass diodes (40) are electrically connected in reverse parallel to the spherical semiconductor elements (20), and having width larger than or equal to the width of the bypass diodes (40).

A photoelectric converting apparatus has first and third semiconductor layers of a first conductivity type which respectively output signals obtained by photoelectric conversion, and second and fourth semiconductor layers of a second conductivity type supplied with potentials from a potential supplying unit. In the photoelectric converting apparatus, the first, second, third and fourth semiconductor layers are arranged in sequence, the second and fourth semiconductor layers are electrically separated from each other, and the potential to be supplied to the second semiconductor layer and the potential to be supplied to the fourth semiconductor layer are controlled independently from each other.