IBM宣布新技术大幅提升太阳能电池的效率

IBM公司采用集中器光伏发电技术实现了从1平方厘米面积的太阳能电池板上提取230W的能量。该能量然后被转换为70W的可用电力，据该公司声称，这是迄今为止所实现的最佳功效。IBM公司的研究人员在芯片和冷却块之间施加了一种非常薄的、由镓和铟化合物制成的液体金属层。这种被称为热界面层的金属层把来自太阳能电池板的热量转换至冷却块，以保持真正低的芯片温度。

他们暗示，如果硅片能够被有效地冷却，集中器光伏发电装置可以取代传统的装置成为最便宜的太阳能发电装置。

然而，IBM公司承认，要把研究项目从实验室推向大规模生产还有许多工作要做。

通过在太阳能发电站中采用更少数量的光伏电池并利用较大的透镜在每一块电池上集中更多的阳光，IBM公司的系统在进一步减少总的元器件数量方面拥有极大的成本优势。

研究人员表示，集中器把从太阳射线采集的功率增加了10倍，让一般发电为20W的电池能够发出200W的电。

他们最初的研究成果在本周举行的第33届IEEE光伏专业研讨会上已经被提出，在会上研究人员说明了与现有的其它方法相比，他们的液体金属冷却界面怎样把来自太阳能电池的热量更有效地转化至铜冷却板上。

“我们认为，IBM能够把在半导体和纳米科技领域的大量独一无二的经验带至重要的替代能源研究领域，”IBM Research领导光伏产业的科学家Supratik Guha博士说，“这是我们的实验室孵化的许多能够驱使整个行业实现重大变革的探索性研究项目之一，与此同时，推进对太阳能技术的基础科学研究。”

研究人员利用为半导体行业研发的各种方法，把商用太阳能电池与IBM的液体金属热冷却系统结合起来，从而开发出一种实现“突破”的系统。

IBM补充说，基于集中器的光伏技术有可能为大规模的发电提供最低成本的太阳能电力，“倘若太阳能电池的温度保持为低，并且能够开发出廉价且高效的、在非常高水平上集中光线的光学装置的话。”

IBM并没有打算自己制造太阳能电池，但是，希望向太阳能设备制造商许可该技术以及可能要采用的透镜技术。

该公司还在开发纳米结构，其中，包括纳米管以及量子点半导体，以更为有效地制造光伏电池。

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IBM claims major boost in solar cell efficiency

IBM has managed to squeeze 230W of power on to a centimeter square of solar panel using concentrator photovoltaics. The energy was then converted to 70W of usable electric power, the best power efficiency yet achieved, the company claims.

The IBM researchers used a very thin layer of a liquid metal made of a gallium and indium compound that they applied between the chip and a cooling block. Such layers, called thermal interface layers, transfer the heat from the chip to the cooling block so that the chip temperature can be kept really low.

They suggest that if the silicon can be cooled effectively, concentrated photovoltaics could take over as the cheapest form of solar energy.

However, IBM admits there is much work to be done to move the research project from the lab to the fab.

By using a much lower number of photovoltaic cells in a solar farm and concentrating more light on to each cell using larger lenses, IBM's system enables a significant cost advantage in terms of a lesser number of total components.

The researchers said that the concentration increases the power of the sun's rays by a factor of ten, allowing cells that normally generate 20W of power to generate 200W instead.

Their initial results were presented at this week's 33rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists conference , where the researchers showed how their liquid metal cooling interface is able to transfer heat from the solar cell to a copper cooling plate much more efficiently than anything else available today.

"We believe IBM can bring unique skills from our vast experience in semiconductors and nanotechnology to the important field of alternative energy research," said Dr. Supratik Guha, the scientist leading photovoltaics activities at IBM Research. "This is one of many exploratory research projects incubating in our labs where we can drive big change for an entire industry while advancing the basic underlying science of solar cell technology."

The researchers developed a system that achieved the "breakthrough" results by coupling a commercial solar cell to an IBM liquid metal thermal cooling system using methods developed for the semiconductor industry.

IBM adds that concentrator-based photovoltaics technologies have the potential to offer the lowest-cost solar electricity for large-scale power generation, "provided the temperature of the cells can be kept low, and cheap and efficient optics can be developed for concentrating the light to very high levels."

IBM is not planning to make solar cells itself, but expects to license the technology, and potentially its lens technology as well, to solar equipment manufacturers.

The company is also developing nanotechnology structures, involving nanowires and quantum dot semiconductors, to make photovoltaic cells more efficient.