Black Silicon for Solar Cells: What does it mean?

Silicon is the “material of choice” for solar voltaic cells because it takes relatively little energy to excite the electrons in a silicon crystal into the conduction band, where they are free to conduct electricity that can be used to generate electric power. Scientists and engineers have spent many years trying to modify silicon crystals by doping them with other materials that would make the photovoltaic process even more efficient. In the last few years, scientists at Harvard University found that if they blasted the surface of a silicon wafer (in the presence of sulfur hexafluoride gas) with femtosecond laser pulses, the silicon received a heavy doping of sulfur and the surface of the silicon developed deep, microscopic cones. The result was that this newly formed, thin silicon layer, called “black silicon” is 200-500 times more sensitive to light than untreated silicon. How is this possible?

With its new structure, the band gap in the thin silicon layer - the difference between the valence band and the conduction band - is smaller. This means that longer wavelengths of sunlight (infrared) are also able to excite electrons into the conduction band - contributing energy to the solar-electric conversion. Furthermore, by applying a small voltage (a bias) to black silicon creates conditions in which each incoming photon can excite still more electrons. So, not only is the material responsive to wavelengths that silicon-based devices couldn’t detect in the past - it also produces a much stronger signal in response to a weak stimulus. The increased sensitivity makes black silicon good for detection applications; and the increase in absorption wavelengths improves the efficiency of silicon for solar cells.

The Harvard Scientists (Stephen Saylor and James Carey) formed a spinoff company, SiOnyx, to commercialize the process for solar energy and highly-sensitive, imaging applications, such as night vision, surveillance, digital cameras and medical imaging. For over three years, they’ve been pretty quiet about this, but in the last few months, they are starting to talk. Maybe that’s a sign that some of the applications of black silicon are about to “come to market”.

This is another example of photonics (femtosecond lasers) as an enabling technology - this time to enhance the efficiencies of solar voltaic cells.

To read the complete article about black silicon, go to:

www.xconomy.com/boston/2008/10/12/sionyx

What do you think about the potential of “black silicon” for solar cell improvement? What other breakthroughs do you see in solar electric energy?

Solid State Lighting: Energy Conservation through Improved Photonic Efficiencies

Energy resources and energy consumption aren’t just hot topics for the news media: they’re major, world-wide issues that we must confront for the next few decades. Last week I talked about recent developments in solar electric (voltaics) that may lead to its widespread growth as a renewable energy source. This week, I want to look at how photonics will contribute to energy conservation.

Lighting consumes over 20% of all the electrical energy produced in the world. The incandescent bulb is only about 25% efficient. We are not only losing 75% of the energy supplied to incandescent, in many cases this wasted energy is producing unwanted heat that will require more energy to remove it. Several states and other countries have already moved to ban the sale of incandescent bulbs this year and through 2012. It’s likely that this ban will grow to most or all states soon.

Presently, compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) and fluorescent tubes are the choice for room lighting in most commercial and residential buildings. But fluorescent lighting is only 40% efficient, its color tone does not match sunlight (an aesthetic quality we hold dear) and when they are no longer useable, we have to dispose of devices that contain mercury, which is harmful to the environment.

Solid state lighting (light-emitting diodes, or LEDs) shows the greatest promise for improved lighting efficiency and energy conservation. LED’s have the potential of being over 90% efficient and lasting for 50,000 hours (as compared with a few thousand hours with incandescents and CFLs.) Typical LEDs emit a single color of light from a small source (semiconductor junction.) If we want to use them as white light sources, we have to combine at least three LEDs with different emitting color characteristics. (i.e., red, blue and green) Some optical elements are usually placed in front of the LED’s to spread or diffuse the “point source”.

Presently, LEDs are in use in the following niche applications:

• Colored Light Sources—Traffic lights, exit signs, candles and holiday lighting
• Indoor White Light—Recessed down lights and refrigerated display cases
• Outdoor White Lights— Street and area lights & step, path and porch lights

Of these, the greatest energy savings are coming from recessed down lights and street/area lights (luminaries). For room and hall lighting in commercial and home buildings, special power supplies are being developed to control dimming and color temperatures. These power supplies are the limiting factor on lifetime (~6-10,000 hours).

In May, 2008, General Electric announced the demonstration of roll-to-roll manufactured organic light-emitting diode (OLED) lighting devices. This product will be available in thin sheets which, presumably, could be applied to walls or ceilings of rooms. The OLED offers the potential of having entire walls or the ceiling emit light at controlled colors and levels of intensity.

So, what new or renewed jobs will solid state lighting produce as it inevitably will emerge in the next several years? Will it require retraining for electricians, architects and room designers? Or, will there also be a need for SSL technicians with comprehensive knowledge and skills to rebuild our lighting infrastructure for more energy-efficient consumption?

OP-TEC staff will continue to follow this emerging application of photonics to anticipate new education and training needs.

To learn more about solid state lighting visit www.netl.doe.gov/ssl.

Solar Electric Power: Using Holographic Concentrators to Improve Efficiency

The use of solar electric power has grown significantly in recent years, particularly in Europe, China and the U.S. The worldwide output of solar installations remains relatively small (~7 GW), primarily because of the high cost of refined silicon and low solar module (PV) efficiency. However, recent breakthroughs have occurred in optical devices to improve the efficiency of the solar-collecting cells and to concentrate greater amounts of solar energy on the cells.

In the December 2008 issue of Laser Focus World, the article, "Holographic planar concentrator increases solar-panel efficiency" by Rosenberg, Kostuk & Zecchino, describes the holographic planar concentrator (HPC) as an approach that achieves both these goals. A holographic film is used in a planar concentrator that:

• Collects more indirect and diffuse sunlight throughout the day, and concentrates it on the solar cell. This “passive tracking” allows the collector to produce electrical power for more hours during the day, and during overcast conditions.


• Filters the sunlight, allowing only useful wavelengths to strike the photovoltaic (PV). The unwanted wavelengths are blocked, thus preventing a temperature rise which decreases the efficiency of the PV process.


• Solar modules with HPC cells are currently being developed to incorporate “bifacial PV cells”, which means that the solar light can strike both sides of the cells, improving the efficiency and using less pure silicon. The reduction of silicon, and other improvements have lowered the cost of a solar module below a dollar per watt.

So it’s quite possible that solar electric collectors are becoming sufficiently efficient and competitive that the rapid expansion of solar energy may be realized in the next few years. Some U.S. plants that will manufacture solar PV systems are scheduled to open in 2009.

It appears that optical devices, such as the HPC, will provide the critical technology that is needed for solar PV’s—another field where photonics is an “enabling technology.

OP-TEC staff and Partner Colleges will continue to track the solar PV development to identify new careers for photonics technicians.

What are your thoughts on the possible emergence of solar electric energy? Do you know of educational courses or programs that are addressing technician needs in this area?

Reference:
Kostuk, Raymond K., Rosenberg, Glenn & Zecchino, Mike (December 2008). Holographic planar concentrator increases solar-panel efficiency [Electronic version]. Laser Focus World, (29)12, pp. 41-44.

Precision Optics Technicians: A Critical Need for Our Country

Precision Optics Technicians (POTs) create, test and handle optical (infrared, visible and ultraviolet) components that are used in lasers and sophisticated electro-optical systems for defense, homeland security, aerospace, biomedical equipment, digital displays, controlled thermonuclear fusion and nanotechnology. POT’s also integrate precision optical components into these electro-optical systems and maintain them.

There is a perceived shortage of POT’s that could require our country to outsource this work to foreign nations - a situation that would compromise our nation’s security and sacrifice a vital sector of future economic development.

Several factors have contributed to this shortage. Many experienced POT’s have retired, and more are expected to retire in the near future. The two community colleges that have offered education/training in precision optics have discontinued the programs due to faculty retirements and poor support. One of these colleges has committed to update and reinstate its POT program.

Under a supplemental grant from NSF, OP-TEC and the Photonics Industry Clusters are conducting studies and preparing to support the development of additional POT programs at community colleges.

• In January, 2009, OP-TEC will complete the National Skill Standards for POT’s - the employer’s specifications for new technicians in precision optics (and the basis for a new curriculum design.)


• OP-TEC is designing the new curriculum model for preparing POT’s.


• The Rochester Photonics Cluster is preparing a design and an equipment list for college labs to train POT’s.


• OP-TEC, through the University of North Texas, is conducting an employer needs assessment to determine the number of POT jobs that will need to be filled over the next five years.


• OP-TEC will host a meeting in Waco TX, February 19, 2009, for regional teams of colleges and employers that have an interest in initiating education and training for POT’s.

Hopefully, several teams will be identified and committed to begin planning POT education/training programs. OP-TEC will then move forward to secure funding to support them through their start-up process. We will also search for support to equip the laboratories.

We will be building a network of employers and educators for POT education/training. Are you interested in participating? Please contact Christine Dossey cdossey@cord.org at the OP-TEC office.

Math in Photonics Education: It all adds up.

Recently I’ve been talking about increasing the enrollment in photonics technology courses and programs. Last week we looked at successful strategies for “building the high school pipeline.” But once we’ve enrolled the students, how do we keep them? As I’ve looked at enrollment in photonics programs, I have frequently seen that the number of second-year students is less than half the number of first-year students. This indicates an attrition rate that is much too high.

Faculty at colleges tell me that most of their students love to work with lasers and optics - they’re not dropping out from lack of interest; they’re dropping out because they are struggling with the math.

A few years ago, Gary Beasley, lead instructor in lasers and photonics technology at Central Carolina Community College (CCCC), was losing over 60% of his students in the first semester - mostly because of the math. So, together we began working on that problem.

OP-TEC staff examined the math topics that were required in the first two photonics courses. We found the following eleven topics:

• Scientific notation
• Unit conversion
• Introductory algebra
• Powers and roots
• Ratio and proportion
• Exponents and logarithms
• Graphing in rectangular coordinates
• Geometry
• Angle measure in two and three dimensions
• Trigonometry
• Special graphs

Then we developed a math supplement titled Mathematics for Photonics Education. In it we included a chapter for each of the eleven topics. Each chapter has a 2–3 page review of the math concept, followed by several pages of example calculations for problems that students typically encounter in photonics courses. The remainder of the chapter consists of exercises for student practice. We also prepared a diagnostic test that Gary (or any photonics professor) could administer to students who were beginning their first courses. The book is not a math text - it is a supplement that every new photonics student can own and keep for reference throughout the duration of his or her work at the college.

The next time Gary taught the first photonics course, every student had a copy of this math supplement - and they all took the diagnostic test. Before he began to teach a new topic, Gary would advise the students that to be successful, they would need to be proficient in a particular math concept. He would then make an assignment from one of the chapters in the supplement. He also identified (from the diagnostic test) the students who were weak on that particular topic. Those students were given a short tutorial in Gary’s office. This “just in time” delivery of math concepts reduced the dropout rate in Gary’s classes from 60% to almost 0%. (One student had to leave for personal reasons.) Gary now uses the math supplement on a regular basis, as do many other instructors. Most are careful not to call it a “math text” or to teach a math course from it; the college math department would probably not be happy with this.

So what have we learned from this? We know that, although most photonics students are capable, many are not as strong as they should be in mathematics. But if we address that problem, we can help a lot of students become successful photonics technicians, we can keep enrollments high, and photonics employers will benefit from having access to a steady supply of well-prepared employees.

In the dual credit high school photonics course that we are currently pilot-testing, we have embedded the supplemental math units in the course to help refresh the skills of the high school students in using these concepts and also to provide a photonics context for how they are applied in the workplace.

The “High School Pipeline” - Building Enrollment in College Programs

Like most technician programs at public, two-year colleges, photonics technologies are suffering from low enrollments. And many of the students that enroll in photonics programs have to drop out in the first year because they struggle with the math.

The graduates of these programs are all getting multiple job offers and very good salaries - but we don’t have enough grads because we don’t have enough well-prepared students. To solve this problem, we have to “get to the source” of most of our students - the high school graduates.

Most of the students who enroll - and are successful - in photonics technology were recent high school graduates who were in the middle 60% of the achievers. They are capable students that are frequently underperforming, for several reasons:

• Most of them are “hands-on” learners (or contextual learners.) They usually do not achieve high grades in science and math classes when the coursework is taught in the typical, abstract mode. They ask questions like, “Why do I have to learn this?”


• Many of them are not very interested in school because they couldn’t understand how what they were being asked to learn would ever be useful to them. They may not have “physically” dropped out of school, but they dropped out, “mentally”.


• They lack confidence as a student; they don’t think they are “college material.”

Colleges are learning that they can recruit these students in exciting STEM technologies like photonics, and they can help high schools to get them prepared, if they intervene when the students are in the early years of high school. The secret is to engage them in STEM “Career Pathways” that begin in the 9th or 10th grade and continue into college.

How can colleges help? Here are some strategies that have proven successful by some of OP-TEC’s Partner Colleges that teach photonics:

1. Engage a young recruiter (someone in their 20’s) to frequently visit the high school campuses and talk to the students about photonics - but don’t call it photonics; call it “Lasers”. The recruiters don’t have to be old engineers or technology experts; some of the best recruiters have marketing backgrounds. You can teach them all they need to know about the field in a short time. Some of them are young mothers who want to work part time. Our colleges have all found that the “return on investment” is quite high.


2. Work with local high schools to offer “Dual Credit” courses in photonics (or lasers) to high school juniors and seniors. Usually these courses are offered as technology courses, not science courses. OP-TEC is pilot testing an introductory photonics course for dual credit (secondary/post secondary). It is being delivered as a hybrid, online course. For one period each day, the students go to a computer lab in the high school and take the online portion of the course. There is a math/science or technology teacher also available in the lab to assist in the math and problem-solving aspects. Every two weeks, the students travel to the college and spend an afternoon in the laser labs. When they complete the course, the students receive high school credit for a technology course - and college credit for a course that counts towards an associate degree in photonics.

So why are these two strategies helping to build college enrollments? First, the recruitment strategy helps them discover a rewarding career field that’s interesting; and shows them an educational pathway that will allow them to begin the process early in high school. Second, the dual credit course allows them to start taking courses that they may use in their career, and it gives them some college credits while they are still in high school - that’s worth some $$.

But it does several other things as well. It assures that their math skills are developed to a level that they can be successful in college. It also places them in the environment of a college campus, and helps them understand that they can do college work. That’s a huge confidence builder for many “middle 60%” students. And, these students are our future technicians.

In the next few weeks I plan to talk about another long-term strategy for recruiting high school graduates. This strategy includes the use of “summer workshops” for both high school teachers and students. This strategy also works well, but takes time.

What other strategies are you using to build up your enrollment? Do you want more information about OP-TEC’s initiatives with student recruiters or dual enrollment courses? Contact us or share your feedback here!

Rebuilding the Electronics Core Curriculum with High-Tech Specialties like Photonics

Electronics Engineering Technology (EET) programs in most colleges are seeing declines in their enrollments, causing many programs to close. One reason for this decline is that students perceive electronics as a dead-end career path that does not have the high-tech appeal of other emerging technical fields. These closures are having a serious ripple effect that could negatively impact other two-year college technical programs.

In the last several years, three OP-TEC Partner Colleges (Indian River State College, Central Carolina CC and Indian Hills CC) have redesigned their electronics core to incorporate photonics and other high-visibility, emerging technologies such as robotics, biomedical equipment, homeland security and telecommunications. Because of these changes, along with focused, aggressive high school recruiting strategies, these colleges have all experienced significant growth in enrollment. One of the colleges has moved from a low enrollment that placed the program at risk, to enrollments that are exceeding their capacities.

A paper has recently been prepared that describes the process, the curriculum models at the three OP-TEC Partner Colleges and the results. A complimentary copy of this paper is available by e-mail or by download from our website. I encourage you to review this paper and post any comments or questions.

Click here to request a copy of the paper by e-mail!

Click here to view, save and/or print a copy of the paper (PDF file) on the OP-TEC website!

To access this paper from the main OP-TEC website page, http://www.op-tec.org/, simply click on the "Curriculum Materials" link and then select the paper title, Revitalizing Electronics Engineering Technology Programs Through a Core Curriculcum Structure and Emerging Technologies, from the "OP-TEC Photonics Program Planning Materials" list.