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Published online 30 July 2008 | Nature 454, 558-559 (2008) | doi:10.1038/454558a

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Thin films: ready for their close-up?

New types of solar cell that can be mass-produced cheaply, and integrated into building materials, are popular with venture capitalists and market analysts. But scientists are less gung ho, reports Declan Butler.

Declan Butler

From the 1950s onwards, big chunks of crystalline silicon have dominated the world of solar cells. But the dominance of these traditional cells — which make up 90% of today's 10-gigawatt-a-year installation market — is now being challenged by 'thin-film' solar cells that are micrometres or mere nanometres thick, and frequently made of materials other than silicon.

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  • Excellent article! We at Silacon Corporation think the industry is missing the paradigm for growing solar PV. We found the answer. Our solution is clearly 'out of the box' but works well with any 10% or 15% efficiency PV technology. The technology is proprietary thus we require a NDA and non-compete legality. Please contact us via Nature and our email address. We wish to encourage strategic partnerships to expand PV. Our pro forma clearly demonstrates the need for far less capital than any other approach. We hope to publish the solution in Nature once proprietary protection via NATURE is assured. We can prove that our system works and requires no further research. T Boone Pickens would be proud! Charles G. Nutter, CEO Silacon Corporation, Woodbury, MN 55125 651-738-1965

    • 01 Aug, 2008
    • Posted by: Charles Nutter