Five solar device manufacturers -- two from North America, two from China and one from Europe--have asked Natcore Technology, Inc. to determine if Natcore's black silicon and liquid phase deposition (LPD) processes can help them reduce costs and improve performance of their solar energy products. The companies use plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) to deposit films on their products. The two North American companies have sent Natcore sample wafers, some to process with black silicon, some with Natcore's proprietary LPD surface passivation technology and some with both processes. Both Chinese manufacturers have also asked Natcore to apply an 'absolute black' antireflective coating to the sample wafers they have provided. The European manufacturer wants Natcore to process wafers with a very thin LPD silica layer. The thin layer is an integral part of the cell structure the company now has in pilot production, and successful insertion of Natcore's technology will enable a major reduction of cell manufacturing costs. Natcore's proprietary LPD process makes it possible to grow a wide range of inorganic materials--such as silicon dioxide-based films--on a range of substrates using a room-temperature, environmentally friendly chemical bath -- thereby eliminating the need for harsh and expensive CVD methods currently used in industry. The work will be completed using Natcore's AR-Box(TM) at their R&D Center in Rochester, NY. AR-Box is Natcore's intelligent processing station that uses the LPD process to grow thin film coatings on various substrates.