The University of Alabama, in partnership with Lightwave logic is exploring the use of Perkinamine™ chromophores in photovoltaic designs. The university has secured a $1MM grant that will explore the advanced photo absorptive capabilities of the company’s materials.
Part of the attraction of Perkinamine™ chromophores is a characteristic called pan-chromatic absorption—the ability to absorb light over an extremely wide spectrum. To adequately understand this it is helpful to take a look at the following spectrum chart:
Most photovoltaics absorb light in a narrow band. Most photovoltaics absorb light in a narrow band. The unusual properties of most Perkiname™ chromophores is pan-chromatic absorption across the solar spectrum.
This creates the potential for a significant advantage to harvest more energy than possible with conventional photovoltaic materials—even assuming the same conversion efficiency. There are other potentially significant advantages, like the ability of the polymer to be printed on plastic film. Furthermore, because the material has been optimized to efficiently handle photons, there is the distinct possibility that photovoltaic cells fashioned out of Perkinamine™ organic optical polymers will be able to have greater conversion efficiencies. As an example, conventional solar cells convert approximately 12% of the solar power into useable energy within a very narrow bandwidth. The potential to increase absorption in addition to increased conversion efficiency holds the promise of changing the economic proposition of solar energy.
