Solar cell unit and a panel or battery composed of a plurality of such solar cell units
First Claim
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1. A semiconductor solar cell unit comprising:
- a layer of a first conductivity type semiconductor material, a surface layer of second conductivity type semiconductor material, overlaid in contact with the layer of the first conductivity type semiconductor material, said surface layer being adapted for exposure to tangentially incident solar radiation, said surface layer having a periodic pattern of alternating first and second regions with the first region having a first complex impedance to a tangentially incident plane wave of solar radiation and the second region having a second complex impedance to the incident plane wave of solar radiation, the complex impedances of the first and second regions being different and causing the generation of a local Hartree-harmonics field whereby the local Hartree-harmonics field interferes with any tangentially incident solar radiation to deflect said tangentially incident radiation towards said surface layer, thereby increasing the effective area of the solar cell for converting solar energy into electricity.
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Abstract
The effective area of a solar cell unit may be enlarged or increased considerably relative to its physical area by providing its exposed surface layer with a periodic structure or pattern, by which a local field is generated, a so-called Hartree harmonics field. The periodic structure is preferably a grating structure or pattern, and by orienting the solar cell edgewise so that the sunlight is grazing rather than oblique or directly perpendicular to the surface, its response factor may be increased up to a factor 11 theoretically.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A semiconductor solar cell unit comprising:
- a layer of a first conductivity type semiconductor material, a surface layer of second conductivity type semiconductor material, overlaid in contact with the layer of the first conductivity type semiconductor material, said surface layer being adapted for exposure to tangentially incident solar radiation, said surface layer having a periodic pattern of alternating first and second regions with the first region having a first complex impedance to a tangentially incident plane wave of solar radiation and the second region having a second complex impedance to the incident plane wave of solar radiation, the complex impedances of the first and second regions being different and causing the generation of a local Hartree-harmonics field whereby the local Hartree-harmonics field interferes with any tangentially incident solar radiation to deflect said tangentially incident radiation towards said surface layer, thereby increasing the effective area of the solar cell for converting solar energy into electricity.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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