QD Soleil™, a
division of Nanosys Inc. focused on the use of proprietary nanotechnology in
solar panel cell designs, today announced the signing of an exclusive license
agreement with Starfire Electronic Development and Marketing Corporation for
patents covering the work of nanotechnology pioneer Dr. Avery Goldstein.
The technologies under license have the potential to dramatically improve
the economics of solar energy by increasing process efficiencies and reducing
the amount of raw materials required in the manufacture of photovoltaic cells.
The license relates to manufacturing methods for making semiconductor thin films
using roll-to-roll processing and nanoparticle inks, and also includes seminal
coverage of silicon and germanium nanocrystals, all of which are critical in
the production of solar energy at cost parity with traditional energy sources.
Silicon nanocrystals also have the potential to produce highly efficient photovoltaic
cells.
“These patents complement our strong intellectual property position in
the area of thin films and photovoltaic devices,” said Vijendra Sahi,
vice president and general manager of QD Soleil. “Avery Goldstein has
been one of the leading minds in nanotechnology since the beginning of this
field. The licensed patents from Starfire cover fundamental applications of
nanotechnology in photovoltaic technologies which will help keep QD Soleil at
the forefront of solar innovation.”
“We are pleased to be working with QD Soleil, which is clearly the leader
in semiconductor thin films and nanotechnology-enabled photovoltaic cells,”
said Dr. Goldstein. “This is a natural fit for our intellectual property.
I am excited about the opportunity to further the development and commercialization
of this technology working in conjunction with QD Soleil.”
QD Soleil is a division of Nanosys Inc. focused on the use of proprietary nanotechnology
in solar panel cell designs. QD Soleil controls a seminal intellectual property
estate that includes over 500 patents and patent applications. The technology
has been refined over many years by Nanosys and exploits the best in class inorganic
material compositions, processing and integration chemistries, and includes
the most stable nanomaterial formulations known. Applications of the technology
and intellectual property are broad and include additive enhancement layers
for light conversion engineering, nano-particle inks, light waveguide concentrators
and nanomaterial composites for enhancing overall solar cell efficiency.