Партньорство между Audi и Alta Devices предвижда монтиране на високоефективни слънчеви панели на покрива на колите. Първият прототип на подобен автомобил се очаква да бъде готов към края на годината.
Слънчевите панели ще се вграждат в панорамния стъклен покрив на различни модели Audi, а по-късно и на целия покрив, като се разчита, че това ще доведе до увеличаване на пробега на електрическите машини, съобщи Alta Devices.
Първоначално, генерираното от слънчевите панели електричество ще се използва за обезпечаване на работата на електрическите системи на автомобила, за климатика или подгряването на седалките. На следващ етап слънчевата енергия ще зарежда директно батерията на електромобила.
Слънчевите панели на Alta Devices се тънки и леки, способни да работят в условия на недостатъчна осветеност и повишени температури. На тях принадлежи световният рекорд за ефективност.
Някои правят реални електрически коли, а Ауди още правят прототипи и обясняват какво ЩЕ произвеждат някога.
Досега се избивахме да паркираме на сянка. А май идват времена дето ще търсим как да паркираме на слънце…
Mass Production
Alta Devices houses three unique tools that allow for the mass production of thin film GaAs.
First, our metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) tool allows for the simultaneous growth of thin GaAs film on top of our single crystal GaAs wafers. Process time for the MOCVD tool is measured in minutes and the tool is capable of producing hundreds of watts of solar cells per hour.
Second, our Epitaxial Lift Off (ELO) tool is the largest of its kind in the world and allows for the separation of the GaAs film from the wafer.
Last, our matrix assembly tool allows us to build customized solar modules to match customer power requirements.
Continuous Innovation
At Alta Devices we are constantly looking for ways to improve our product line. Our first generation products, introduced in 2010, demonstrated our ability to mass produce the highest efficient and thinnest single junction solar cell on the market. Over the years, we have continued to improve our performance and reliability while reducing weight. Currently, we manufacture and sell our fourth generation (Gen4) product line.
Gen4 represents a 30% reduction in mass resulting in an areal density of 170 g/m2 unencapulated. We are also introducing several performance improvements that will result in a more efficient and reliable product. Along with our unique interconnect process, Alta Devices will provide customers with the best power-to-weight and power-to-area combination available on the market. While Gen4 represents a significant performance increase for our customers, it also will allow Alta Devices to achieve our rated capacity in Sunnyvale, California. Ultimately, allowing our costs to decrease significantly to further disrupt traditional solar technologies.
Record Breaking Efficiencies
In addition to being a direct band gap material, we are able to achieve our record breaking efficiencies through the observed phenomenon called “Photon Recycling”. In this process photons bounce off the back of the solar cell which allows them to be recaptured by the material and converted to electricity. Thus, more energy is captured where it would have been lost using traditional solar technology.
Gallium Arsenide (GaAs)
The backbone of our entire technology is gallium arsenide (GaAs) which is a III-V semiconductor with a Zinc Blende crystal structure. GaAs solar cells were first developed in the early 1970s and have several unique advantages. GaAs is naturally robust to moisture and UV radiation making it very durable. It has a wide and direct band gap which allows for more efficient photon absorption and high output power density. Finally, it has a low temperature coefficient and strong low light performance.