Solar cell developers look beyond silicon

HelioVolt Corp. (Austin, Texas) has developed a process based on rapid thermal annealing and anodic bonding that allows high-performance copper-indium-gallium-selinide (CIGS) films to be deposited on just about any substrate. Founder and photovoltaic pioneer Billy Stanbery claims the process can dramatically shorten manufacturing time and reduce the thermal budget by a factor of 10 to 100. The process could allow a new class of materials for building integrated photovoltaics that serve, for example, as a robust coating on external building materials or on interior furnishings like curtains, to turn buildings into self-powered photovoltaic plants.

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