Combining HPC technology with CIGS thin film PV technology is expected to help mitigate the one serious limitation of thin film cells: their lower efficiency relative to crystalline PV cells. The development of HPC-thin film modules is expected to result in efficiencies equal to or greater than that of conventional crystalline PV modules.

“The combination of increased efficiency and scalability means the HPC-thin film module holds tremendous promise for widespread adoption, particularly with the current worldwide drive toward energy independence and lower dependence on fossil fuel,” says Jessica Barry, Director of Business Development for Prism Solar. “This kind of innovation will help to propel solar into the mainstream energy mix.”

Prism Solar’s HPC technology is a highly effective solution for increasing the efficiency of solar power modules. Holographic film, which is applied in strips alongside PV cells, concentrates direct, diffuse and reflected light to the cells, over a wide range of incident angles. The result is a solar module that uses dramatically less expensive solar cell material to generate the same, or greater, output energy as conventional modules.

Prism Solar has successfully integrated HPC technology into modules using monocrystalline PV cells. HPC can, however, be used to concentrate light onto any PV cell technologies including thin films. Thin film PV has the advantages of highly efficient manufacturing, low cost, and low waste. The disadvantage of thin film PV has been a lower efficiency than traditional crystalline PV. Thin film modules enable a wide range of solar applications, from rigid modules for very large array installations to small, flexible designs for powering electronics.

Some thin film cells, in particular CIGS cells, show a marked increase in efficiency at higher light concentration levels. Pairing CIGS these cells with Prism Solar’s HPC technology is an excellent fit to improve efficiencies. Such a low cost high performance HPC-thin film module is anticipated to reach $1/Watt or less, resulting in system costs that reach grid parity and are competitive with current energy costs.

The NSF award is made possible through the Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Grant # IIP-0912797.  “Prism Solar is pleased to receive support from the NSF in an effort to merge thin film technology with Prism’s HPC technology to create a groundbreaking new product,” says Barry.

Prism Solar has partnered with the University of Arizona’s world-renowned College of Optical Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering Department to design and build an HPC-CIGS prototype module.