| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20100109047 | Multijunction rare earth solar cell - Examples of device structures utilizing layers of rare earth oxides to perform the tasks of strain engineering in transitioning between semiconductor layers of different composition and/or lattice orientation and size are given. A structure comprising a plurality of semiconductor layers separated by transition layer(s) comprising two or more rare earth compounds operable as a sink for structural defects is disclosed. | 05-06-2010 |
| 20100116315 | Active rare earth tandem solar cell - The use of rare-earth (RE and O, N, P) based materials to transition between two different semiconductor materials and enable up and/or down conversion of incident radiation is disclosed. Rare earth based oxides, nitrides and phosphides provide a wide range of lattice spacing enabling, compressive, tensile or stress-free lattice matching with Group IV, III-V, and Group II-VI compounds. | 05-13-2010 |
| 20100122720 | Passive Rare Earth Tandem Solar Cell - The use of rare-earth (RE+O, N, P) based materials to transition between two semiconductor materials is disclosed. Rare earth based oxides, nitrides and phosphides provide a wide range of lattice spacings enabling, compressive, tensile or stress-free lattice matching with Group IV, III-V, and Group II-VI compounds. Disclosed embodiments include tandem solar cells. | 05-20-2010 |
| 20110278464 | RADIATION DETECTOR AND FABRICATION PROCESS - A monolithic integrated radiation detector includes a photodetector and a scintillator deposited directly on the photodetector. Preferably the photodetector is silicon and the scintillator is a rare earth phosphor. The rare earth phosphor is crystal lattice matched to the silicon by a transitional layer epitaxially grown therebetween. | 11-17-2011 |
| 20110290313 | SOLAR CELLS WITH ENGINEERED SPECTRAL CONVERSION - A solar cell with engineered spectral conversion elements or components includes a single crystal silicon solar cell having a back surface. At least one spectral conversion element is formed on the back surface. The conversion element includes single crystal rare earth oxide, and the single crystal rare earth oxide is crystal lattice matched to the back surface of the silicon solar cell. Material including silicon is formed on the back surface in a surrounding and embedding relationship to the at least one spectral conversion element. A back reflector is positioned on the material formed on the back surface so as to reflect light passing through the silicon formed on the back surface. | 12-01-2011 |
| 20120019902 | INTERGRATED PUMP LASER AND RARE EARTH WAVEGUIDE AMPLIFIER - A light amplifier includes a single crystal semiconductor substrate with a rare earth oxide, light amplifying gain medium deposited on the substrate and formed into a light waveguide, and a pump laser. A lattice matching virtual substrate integrates the pump laser to the gain medium with a first opposed surface crystal lattice matched to the gain medium and second opposed surface crystal lattice matched to the pump laser. The pump laser is positioned with a light output surface coupled to a light input surface of the gain medium so as to introduce pump energy into the light waveguide. The light amplifier has a very small footprint and allows the integration of control and monitoring electronics. | 01-26-2012 |
| 20120073648 | Photovoltaic conversion using rare earths plus Group IV Sensitizers - The invention relates to photovoltaic device structures of more than one layer comprising rare earth compounds and Group IV materials enabling spectral harvesting outside the conventional absorption limits for silicon. | 03-29-2012 |
| 20120085399 | REO-Ge Multi-Junction Solar Cell - The invention relates to a semiconductor based structure for a device for converting radiation to electrical energy comprising various combinations of rare-earths and Group IV, III-V, and II-VI semiconductors and alloys thereof enabling enhanced performance including high radiation conversion efficiency. | 04-12-2012 |
| 20120090672 | REO-Ge Multi-Junction Solar Cell - The invention relates to a semiconductor based structure for a device for converting radiation to electrical energy comprising various combinations of rare-earths and Group IV, III-V, and II-VI semiconductors and alloys thereof enabling enhanced performance including high radiation conversion efficiency. | 04-19-2012 |
| 20120145243 | SOLAR CELLS WITH MAGNETICALLY ENHANCED UP-CONVERSION - A method of magnetically enhancing up-conversion components includes providing at least one of up-conversion material and sensitizer material (i.e. up-conversion components), generally in conjunction with a semiconductor solar cell, and positioning magnetic apparatus adjacent the up-conversion components to supply a magnetic field to the up-conversion components. The magnetic field has an intensity and direction selected to enhance operation of the up-conversion components. | 06-14-2012 |
| 20120147906 | LASER COOLING OF MODIFIED SOI WAFER - A laser cooling system includes a substrate, an REO layer of single crystal rare earth oxide including at least one rare earth element positioned on the surface of the substrate, and an active layer of single crystal semiconductor material positioned on the REO layer to form a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) device. Light guiding structure is at least partially formed by the REO layer so as to introduce energy elements into the REO layer and produce cooling by anti-Stokes fluorescence. The active layer of single crystal semiconductor material is positioned on the REO layer in proximity to the light guiding structure so as to receive the cooling. | 06-14-2012 |
| 20120256232 | Multilayer Rare Earth Device - Examples of device structures utilizing layers of rare earth oxides to perform the tasks of strain engineering in transitioning between semiconductor layers of different composition and/or lattice orientation and size are given. A structure comprising a plurality of semiconductor layers separated by transition layer(s) comprising two or more rare earth compounds operable as a sink for structural defects is disclosed. | 10-11-2012 |
| 20140357014 | HIGH EFFICIENCY SOLAR CELL USING IIIB MATERIAL TRANSITION LAYERS - A solar cell including a base of single crystal silicon with a cubic crystal structure and a single crystal layer of a second material with a higher bandgap than the bandgap of silicon. First and second single crystal transition layers are positioned in overlying relationship with the layers graduated from a cubic crystal structure at one surface to a hexagonal crystal structure at an opposed surface. The first and second transition layers are positioned between the base and the layer of second material with the one surface lattice matched to the base and the opposed surface lattice matched to the layer of second material. | 12-04-2014 |
