INVISIBLE SOLAR CELLS

REPORTED BY:

LLANTO, JOL MARIE L.

 Contents
 INTRODUCTION
• What is solar cell?
• How does solar cell form ?
 WHO INVENTED INVISIBLE SOLAR CELL?
 HOW DOES INVISIBLE SOLAR CELL FUNCTION?
 WORKING
 HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM THE TRADITIONAL
SOLAR CELL
 COMPONENTS OF INVISIBLE SOLAR CELL
 ADVANTAGES
 DISADVANTAGES
 THE COMPANY
 CHARACTERISTICS OF INVISIBLE SOLAR CELL
 CONCLUSION
Warmth , Visual light

Vital energy
 Solar Arrays

Solar Panel

Solar cell
 What is Solar Cell
A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an
electrical device that converts the energy of
light directly into electricity by the
photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and
chemical phenomenon.
 SILICON
Sand - is the second most abundant element
The sand has to be on earth
converted to 99.999%
pure Silicon Crystals
to use in solar cell

To achieve this the sand has to go through a complex

purification process

sand Carbon Raw Silicon

 The Raw Silicon gets converted
into a gaseous silicon compound
orm . This is mixed with hydrogen
to get highly purified.
Polycrystalline Silicon this silicon
are reshaped and converted into
very thin slices called Silicon
Wafers
Silicon Wafer is the heart of
Photovoltaic cell
DARK
Solar farm Solar Roof top system
 Who invented the
Invisible solar cell?
Back in August of 2014 Richard
Royal Lunt  a chemical engineer, 
materials scientist, physicist, and the
Johansen Crosby Professor of
Chemical Engineering and Materials
Science at Michigan State University
 (MSU) in East Lansing, Michigan, in
the United States.[1] He is most well
known for the development of 
invisible solar cells.
To make a transparent solar cell, researchers opted for a
different system called a transparent luminescent solar
concentrator (TLSC), which contains organic salts that absorb
specific non-visible wavelengths of ultraviolet and infrared
light. This light is then guided towards traditional photovoltaic
solar cells which are able to trap the energy and convert it into
electricity.
How does Invisible Solar Cells Function?

First, you need to understand that the sun transmits energy in the form of invisible ultraviolet
and infrared light as well as visible light. These invisible solar cells are engineered only to
capture light from the invisible ends of the spectrum, allowing all other light to pass through,
and this causes them to appear transparent. This process made it possible for crystalline
silicon-based solar technologies to be molded into modules that can blend in with building
surfaces of any color, including pure white. In effect, this makes the panels look as good as
invisible.
 WORKING
1- Photon cells emitted from the sun are absorbed by the silicon in
the solar panels

2- The panels then convert those photons into electrons of direct

current electricity

3- Those electrons flow out of the panel into an inverter and other
safety devices

4- The inverter and other safety devices turn the electrons of

direct current (DC power into alternating current power (AC).

• AC power is what generates your television, toaster and

computer for example when plugged into the wall.

• This process happens billions of times per second

•A bi-directional meter keeps track of the all the power your solar
system produces. Any solar energy that you don’t use immediately
will go back into the grid through the meter. Then at night or on
cloudy days, this energy is used
How does it differ from
traditional solar cell?
INVISIBLE
SOLAR CELL

This project developed a new class of

near-infrared excitonic semiconductors,
which can be utilized to selectively
capture and convert ultraviolet and
near-infrared light into electricity, and
VISIBLE SOLAR
design the next generation of high
CELL efficiency transparent solar cells.
 Traditional solar cell
• Traditional solar panels absorb light and turn it into
energy, but a transparent surface is not typically able to
absorb light
• Traditional solar cell provides about 15-18% power
conversion efficiency
• A typical residential solar panel with 60 photovoltaic
cells combined might produce anywhere from 220 to
over 400 watts of power.
Invisible solar cell
• Used as a window
• It can also be used for displays on electronic devices,
giving them another source of power and potentially
extending their energy life significantly
• Transparent solar cells reached 9.8% power
conversion efficiency. The cells have an average
visible transparency of 38.3%.
 COMPONENTS OF INVISIBLE SOLAR CELL

Sample of transparent photovoltaic device

This schematic diagram shows the key components

in the novel transparent photovoltaic (PV) device,
which transmits visible light while capturing
ultraviolet (UV) and near-infrared (NIR) light. The PV
coating—the series of thin layers at the right—is
deposited on the piece of glass, plastic, or other
transparent substrate. At the core of the coating are
the active layers, which absorb the UV and NIR light
and cause current to flow via the two transparent
electrodes through an external circuit. The reflector
sends UV and NIR light back into the active layers,
while the anti-reflective (AR) coatings on the outside
surfaces maximize incoming light by reducing
reflections.
Advantages of Invisible solar cell
• They can be used on nearly all surfaces from tall building
windows to cars.
• They look like glass.
• Moreover, the solar cells would block much of the infrared
radiation, a large part of the sunlight that heats up a room.
• Extends battery life: up to ‘infinite’
• Increases energy: supports new features and functions in
mobile devices
Disadvantages of Invisible solar cell

• Weather Dependent
Although solar energy can still be collected during cloudy and rainy days, the
efficiency of the solar system drops. Solar panels are dependent on sunlight to
effectively gather solar energy. Therefore, a few cloudy, rainy days can have a
noticeable effect on the energy system.

• The rate of usage of transparent solar panels is very less when compared to
that of the conventional energy sources
Getting it into the world

UBIQUITOUS ENERGY

Ubiquitous Energy is a Silicon Valley technology company leading the

development of transparent photovoltaics with its award-winning truly
transparent solar technology. Ubiquitous Energy is implementing its transparent
solar technology into a wide range of products as an invisible, onboard source
of electricity.
Spun out of MIT (Microsystems Technology Laboratories) , Ubiquitous Energy
is producing highly transparent, efficient solar cells and windows in its Silicon
Valley production facility in Redwood City, CA.
January 30, 2019
Ubiquitous Energy, the leader in transparent solar technology, has produced the first demonstration
commercial window façades using over 1 square meter of the company’s truly transparent solar
technology, ClearView Power™. The fiberglass-framed ClearView Power™ window units demonstrate
the transparent photovoltaic technology’s aesthetic beauty, high transparency, and color neutrality.

March 20, 2019

Ubiquitous Energy, the leader in transparent solar technology, has certified a record
transparent solar cell with 9.8% power conversion efficiency. The transparent cell based on
the company’s ClearView Power™ technology has an average visible transparency of
38.3% and a resulting light utilization factor (efficiency multiplied by average visible
transparency) of over 3.75. This is the highest performance combination ever reported for a
transparent solar cell.
 May 20, 2019
At the event in Finland, the company will be
exhibiting its electricity-generating window
façade.The facade is made of six insulated glass
units (IGUs) that are each 14 inches by 20 inches in
size, totalling over 1 square meter of ClearView
Power™ glass. Also gives over 40-80%
transparency.

January 30, 2020

Installed the world’s first truly transparent solar
window façade at its company headquarters in
Redwood City, CA.
Approximately 100 square feet of transparent solar
windows have been installed as an exterior facing
window façade replacing the previous single pane
windows. This Ubiquitous Energy window façade
installation demonstrates the ability to generate
clean, renewable energy while maintaining aesthetic
beauty, high transparency, and color neutrality.
Characteristics of Invisible solar cell

• Invisible: up to 90% visible light transmitted; absorbs only ultraviolet and infrared
• Efficient: over 10% achievable; optimization is independent of transparency
• Non-toxic materials; industry standard deposition equipment
• Thin and light: film is less than 1/1000th of a millimeter thick
• Ubiquitous: generates electricity on any surface or device without aesthetic impact
• For the substrate of a thin film panel the cover glass is typically, a 3.2mm thick piece of solar
glass is used.
• Solar panels are made of tempered glass, which is sometimes called toughened glass.
CONCLUSION

The rate of usage of transparent solar panels is very less when compared to that
of the conventional energy sources. But, in Asian and African countries there is
abundant availability of sunlight which can be trapped and used as an alternative
source of energy. As Asiatic countries are highly populated, maximum amount of
energy is used. So, by using transparent solar panels, energy consumption can
be reduced by more than 40% which, on global scale is a very huge amount. As
the non-renewable energy sources are depleting, this initiative will help us in
conserving the energy and reduce global pollution which in turn reduces global
warming.