Perkinamine™ chromophores are interesting research candidates for photovoltaic applications due to 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 charts:
Most conventional photovoltaics absorb light in a narrow band. The unusual properties of Perkiname™ chromophores allow them to absorb light starting from the visible part of the light spectrum all the way to the near infrared wave lengths.
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 made with Perkinamine™ organic optical polymers will be able to have greater conversion efficiencies.
Conventional solar cells typically convert approximately 12% of the solar power into useable energy within a the narrow bandwidth of absorption. The potential to increase the amount of light absorbed in addition to increased conversion efficiency holds the distinct promise of changing the economic proposition of solar energy.
