Natcore Technology Inc. announced progress in solar energy applications to commercialization. Focused on the photovoltaic/solar industry, Natcore currently holds 16 granted patents and 21 pending patents. While the company is focused on earth-bound solar applications, their proprietary technology could address applications as mundane as coatings on eyeglasses or the inside of water heaters to sophisticated tandem solar cell technology used on satellites.

Because it is important for a small company to remain focused, Natcore recently convened a meeting of their scientific team, including their advisory board, to their lab in Rochester, NY with one purpose in mind: to review all of their technologies and potential applications, identify which of these applications the solar industry wants and needs, and prioritize that list in terms of applications with the most direct path to commercialization. The company's technology could be instrumental in delivering these applications to the industry in a relatively short time frame. Black Silicon is the etching of nano-sized pores into a solar cell surface either through gold or silver nanoparticles.

The resulting surface acts as a replacement for the antireflective coating of traditional solar cells. Natcore's scientists have become quite adept in manufacturing traditional solar cells in their lab. They have also been able to manufacture black silicon cells with the same or similar efficiencies.

They are now quantifying, both internally and through third-party studies, the cost savings that this application would bring to solar cell manufacturing by using black silicon instead of the traditional anti-reflective coating. They expect to have these numbers shortly. Selective Emitter is a process whereby varying the thickness of doping on a cell will improve the energy output and/or reduce resistance.

This application has the potential to increase efficiencies by 3%-5% relative to current standards. Natcore has demonstrated that their Liquid Phase Deposition films can provide a manufacturing-friendly process needed and wanted by the industry. They have also invented technology that allows to easily pattern these films, a requirement for using them for a selective emitter.

Liquid Phase Deposition Passivation is Natcore's proprietary process that allows surface passivation without utilization of a CVD furnace. This potentially allows the passivation of some high efficiency solar cell designs in a simpler and more cost effective way than can be done currently. These three technologies are stand-alone applications, although the common thread that makes them work is Natcore's Liquid Phase Deposition technology.

Natcore feels that they will be able to begin the marketing phase with the Black Silicon application shortly.