Title of Invention	A DEVICE FOR PRODUCING THE FLOW OF ELECTRONS DUE TO SOLAR ENERGY BEING INCIDENT THEREON AND A METHOD OF INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY OF A SOLAR CELL PHOTOVOLTAIC SUBSTRATE MATERIAL
Abstract	The present invention relates to improvements in solar cell and solar panel photovoltaic materials which cause the solar cells/panels to operate more efficiently. In particular, the present invention focuses primarily on matching or modifying particular incident light energies (e.g. from the sun) to predetermined energy levels in a solar photovoltaic substrate material required to excite, for example, electrons in at least a portion of the substrate material in a desirable manner. In this regard, for example, energy levels of incident light, and thus, corresponding particular wavelengths, such as desirable wavelength (λ1), or frequencies of incident light, can be at least partially matched with various desirable energy levels in a substrate material by filtering out at least a portion of certain undesirable incident light, such as that of wavelength (λ2), that comes into contact with at least a portion of a surface of solar cell photovoltaic substrate.

Title of Invention

A DEVICE FOR PRODUCING THE FLOW OF ELECTRONS DUE TO SOLAR ENERGY BEING INCIDENT THEREON AND A METHOD OF INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY OF A SOLAR CELL PHOTOVOLTAIC SUBSTRATE MATERIAL

Abstract

The present invention relates to improvements in solar cell and solar panel photovoltaic materials which cause the solar cells/panels to operate more efficiently. In particular, the present invention focuses primarily on matching or modifying particular incident light energies (e.g. from the sun) to predetermined energy levels in a solar photovoltaic substrate material required to excite, for example, electrons in at least a portion of the substrate material in a desirable manner. In this regard, for example, energy levels of incident light, and thus, corresponding particular wavelengths, such as desirable wavelength (λ1), or frequencies of incident light, can be at least partially matched with various desirable energy levels in a substrate material by filtering out at least a portion of certain undesirable incident light, such as that of wavelength (λ2), that comes into contact with at least a portion of a surface of solar cell photovoltaic substrate.

Full Text	A DEVICE FOR PRODUCING THE FLOW OF ELECTRONS DUE TO SOLAR ENERGY BEING INCIDENT THEREON AND A METHOD OF INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY OF A SOLAR CELL PHOTOVOLTAIC SUBSTRATE MATERIAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for producing the flow of electrons due to solar energy being incident thereon and a method of increasing the efficiency of a solar cell photovoltaic substrate material. In particular, the present invention focuses primarily on matching or modifying particular incident light energies (e.g. a semiconductor material) required to excite, for example, electrons in at least a portion of the substrate material in a desirable manner (e.g. to cause desirable movement of electrons to result in output amperages previously unobtainable). In this regard, for example, energy levels of incident light, and thus, corresponding particular wavelengths or frequencies of incident light, can be at least partiallymatched with various desirable energy levels (e.g. electron band gap energy levels) in a substrate material by filtering out at least a portion of certain undesirable incident light that comes into contact with at least a portion of a surface of a solar cell photovoltaic substrate material; and/or modifying at least a portion of a solar cell photovoltaic substrate material such that such solar cell substrate material interacts favorably with particular desirable frequencies of incident light; and/or modifying particular undesirable light energies prior to them becoming incident on the photovoltaic substrate material to render such light energies more desirable for interactions with the photovoltaic substrate material. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION For many years, effort has been made to utilize the energy from the sun to produce electricity. It is well known that on a clear day the sun provides approximately one thousand watts of energy per square meter almost everywhere on the planet's surface. The historical intention has been to collect this energy by using, for example, an appropriate solar semiconductor device and utilizing the collected energy to produce power by the creation of a suitable voltage and to maximize amperage which is represented by the flow of electrons. However, to date, many photovoltaic cells typically have an overall efficiency as low as about 10-25%. In this regard, that means that when one thousand watts of energy are incident on a square meter of a typical photovoltaic cell, somewhere between about 100 and 250 watts of output energy power typically results. This typical low efficiency in solar cells has been a significant reason for the solar cell industry not growing faster. For example, it is relatively expensive to manufacture those semiconductor materials currently utilized for solar cells (e.g., crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, cadmium sulfide, etc.) into solar panels (e.g., typically, a plurality of combined solar cells electrically connected together) which includes the high costs of forming the solar cell substrate materials themselves, the cost of modifying the substrate materials so that they can become photovoltaic (e.g., doping the semiconductor substrate material to create substrate p/n junctions, etc.), the placement of electron collecting grids on surfaces of the solar cells, manufacturing the solar cells into solar panels, etc. For example, in regard to a first example of utilizing crystalline silicon, one traditional approach for manufacturing solar cells has included converting scrap silicon wafers from the semiconductor industry into solar cells by known techniques which include etching of the solar cells and subsequent processing of the silicon wafers so that 1hey can function as solar cells. A second technique includes creating relatively thin layers of crystalline and/or amorphous silicon upon an appropriate substrate and then utilizing somewhat similar subsequent processing steps to those discussed above to result in a solar cell/solar panel. In each of these two general approaches to obtaining a suitable photovoltaic substrate, the semiconducting nature of the silicon is utilized so that when incident light strikes a doped (e.g., a p-type and/or an n-type doped material) silicon solar cell substrate material, the incident light can be at least partially absorbed (e.g., a photon of light corresponding to a certain amount of energy can be absorbed) into the silicon semiconductor. The absorbed photon results in a transfer of energy to the semiconductor and the transferred energy can result in electron flow in a circuit (e.g., along with, for example, paired electron holes flowing in an opposite direction). A flow of electrons is typically referred to as a current. Solar cells of this type also usually will have a particular voltage associated with the produced current. By placing or positioning appropriate metal collecting electrodes on, for example, the top and bottom of the silicon semiconductor material, the electrons produced can be extracted from the cell as current which can be used, for example, to power an appropriate external device and/or charge a battery. However, this entire process has historically been relatively inefficient, making the solar cell industry less than ideal. Accordingly, there has been a long felt need to enhance the efficiency of solar cells so that the cost of electricity produced by the solar cell approach can be reduced and thus assist in making a meaningful impact on the world power supply by, for example, decreasing the world's dependency on fossil fuels and/or nuclear energy. The present invention satisfies this long felt need by a novel, simple and reliable approach. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been developed to overcome certain shortcomings of the prior art photovoltaic materials as well as those techniques used for the manufacture of numerous compositions of solar cells/solar panels. It is an object of the invention to produce solar cells out of various known photovoltaic substrate materials which, in some cases, can be caused to have higher efficiencies without significantly modifying, if at all modifying, such substrate materials, relative to known substrate materials used in solar cells. It is an object of the invention to apply the techniques and methodology of the invention to at least the photovoltaic substrate materials which include, but are not limited to, crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, single crystal silicon, cadmium sulfide, gallium arsenide, GaAs/Ge, GalnP2/GaAs/Ge, copper-indium diselinide, GalnNAs, GaSb, In GaAs, SiGe, TiO2, AlGaAs, CUInS2, Fullerene C60 and carbonaceous thin films. Another object of the invention is to limit or restrict certain undesirable incident wavelengths of light (and thus certain frequencies and energy levels) from becoming incident upon a solar cell photovoltaic substrate. It is another object of the invention to limit or restrict (i.e.. minimize) certain destructively interfering (or at least partially destrctively interfering) incident wavelengths of hight from becoming incident upon a solar cell photovoltaic substrate so as to maximize the incidence of constructively interfering (or at least partially constructively interfering) incident wavelengths which, for example, substantially match those wavelengths (e.g., amounts of energy) which cause desirable interactions to occur between the incident light and the solar cell substrate (e.g., excite electrons from a substrate into an appropriate energy collection system on the substrate (e.g., a conductive grid), to produce desirable electrical current). Moreover, the incident light energy can be converted to desirable atomic or molecular energies (e.g., electronic) and thus, for example, further energize the electrons to assist in the production of electrical power. It is an object of the invention to determine which particular energies (and thus which particular wavelengths or frequencies) of incident light are required for any desired solar cell photovoltaic substrate to permit desirable interactions to occur (e.g., for electrons to be excited from one energy level to another to result in current; to provide energy to the electrons which can assist in promoting the electrons to a conduction band to result in current; and after determining which energies (and thus which wavelengths or frequencies) are desirable, substantially restricting the wavelengths or frequencies of undesirable incident light upon said substrate by utilizing an appropriate filtering technique or light modifying (e.g., shifting, refracting, etc.) technique, thus maximizing those desirable energies of light which contact or are inciden! upon a solar cell substrate. It is another object of the invention to restrict and or modify the wavelengths of light which are incident upon an appropriate solar cell substrate by utilizing at least one external means for modifying incident sunlight (e.g., a filter or a combination of external filters, a light refracting means, and/or a light reflecting means, etc ), which mavimize(s) those desired wavelengths to be incident upon a solar cell photo\ oltaic substrate. Such external means which include filters, or combinations of external filters, can be incorporated into an original manufacturing process or can be later added (e.g.. as a coating) as, for example, a retrofitting step 10 existing solar cells or solar panels. It is another object of the invention to provide at least one filter for filtering out certain wavelengths of undesirable incident light by providing a particular covering material in a solar cell which functions as a filter. In this regard, an appropriate covering material can" be, for example, suitable poloymer material(s) (including certain monomer(s) and/or oligomer(s);, or suitable glass(es), suitable coatings, and/or combinations of the same. It is an object of the invention to provide a glass cover material which is capable of filtering, refracting and/or reflecting out as many undesirable wavelengths of incident light as possible and thus maximizing the incidences of those wavelengths of light which desirably interact with a solar cell photovoltaic substrate material after passing through such a cover material. To achieve all of the foregoing objects and advantages, and to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art solar cell and solar panel designs, the present invention utilizes a number of novel approaches. Typical photovoltaic materials convert sunlight directly into electricity. Photovoltaic cells typically utilize materials known as semiconductors such as crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, single crystal silicon, cadmium sulfide, gallium arsenide, etc., as a substrate or active material in the solar cell. Of these materials, crystalline silicon is currentl) one of the most commonly used. When sunlight strikes (i.e., is incident upon) a semiconductor material, it is known that certain energy units within sunlight, known as, and referred to as, photons, can be absorbed into the semiconductor material. This typically results in some portion of the energy of incident sunlight being transferred to the semiconductor material. This transfer of energy can cause. for example, electrons to be excited from their ground state into one or more excited states which permits such electrons, in certain cases, to flow somewhat freely within at least a portion of the semiconductor material (e.g., within a conductor or conduction band in the semiconductor material). These photovoltaic materials or cells also have at least one electric field which tends to force electrons to flow in a particular direction, such electrons having been created by the absorption of light energy (i.e.,. photons) into the semiconductor material. The flow of electrons is typically regarded and referred to as a current. By placing appropriate electrodes (e.g., one or more metal grids) on the front and back side of a photovoltaic cell, the flow of electrons can generate a current which can be used to drive electric motors, charge batteries. etc. It is the flow of electrons or current, combined with the voltage produced by the cell (e.g., which is a direct result of any built-in electric field or fields), which defines the total output or power that a solar cell, or group of solar cells in a panel or array, can produce. The following discussion places particular emphasis on crystalline silicon, however, such discussion applies in a parallel manner to other photovoltaic materials as well. An atom of silicon is known to have 14 electrons in three different shells. The first two of these shells closest to the nucleus are regarded as being completely filled with electrons. However, the outer shell is regarded as being only half full and contains only four electrons. This is what makes crystalline silicon, when appropriately doped, a good semiconductor material and thus useful as a solar cell substrate material. In this regard, an individual silicon atom is considered to be driven to attempt to fill its outermost shell with eight electrons. In order to fill its outermost shell, the silicon atom is thought to need to share electrons with, for example, four of its neighboring silicon atoms. This attempt to share electrons with neighboring silicon atoms is essentially what forms the crystalline structure of silicon and this structure is important to the formation of this type of photovoltaic cell. In most cases, silicon desirably includes dopants which are added to the crystalline structure to cause the silicon to work as a better semiconductor. Traditional dopants that have been historically used in the manufacture of crystalline silicon semiconductor materials include boron, phosphorous, indium, etc., the particular dopant(s) being chosen to result in desired p-type and/or n-type characteristics of at least a portion of a semiconductor. A more complete list of dopants than those listed above that have been used with a variety of different photovoltaic materials include, but are not limited to, germanium, beryllium, magnesium, selenium, cadmium, zinc, mercury, oxygen, chlorine, iodine and organometallic dyes (e.g., Rv(SCN)2 C2). The purpose of these dopants is to cause, for example, the silicon to function as a better semiconductor material. By utilizing suitable dopants, me amount of energy required to be input into, for example, a silicon semiconductor to produce or promote electrons to flow is reduced significantly relative to an undoped silicon semiconductor material because in doped silicon, the electrons are not bound in a chemical bond in the same way that undoped silicon electrons are. It is desirable to have present in different portions of a silicon-based solar cell each of an n-type behavior and a p-type behavior. For example, phosphorous can be added as a dopant to result in an n-type semiconductor portion of a silicon material and boron can be added to another portion of a semiconductor material to result in a p-type portion in a silicon semiconductor material. N-type doped materials are typically associated with the letter "n" because such materials have the presence of free electrons (i.e., n = negative); whereas p-type materials are typically associated with the letter "p" because such materials have free holes (i.e., the opposite of electrons and p = positive). The concept of holes is viewed as being important in a solar cell semiconductor material because holes are thought to be the equivalent to the absence of electrons which carry a positive charge in an opposite direction from the electron flow and are thought to move around like electrons. According!}', when both p-type and n-type portions or materials are combined into a single material, at least one electric field will form due to the n-type and p-type portions of silicon being in contact with each other. In particular, free electrons on the n-side of the semiconductor recognize the presence of holes on the p-side of the semiconductor and attempt to fill in these holes by moving there. For example, in the junction between n-type and p-type portions or sections within a semiconductor material, there is a mixture of holes and electrons which reach equilibrium and thus create at least one electric field separating the two sides. This field actually functions as a diode which permits (e.g., in some cases even pushes) electrons to flow from the p-side to the n-side (e.g., but, typically, not the other way around). Accordingly, when photons of light become incident upon me semiconductor material, the photons of light contain a certain amount of energy "E". This amount of energy "E".is equal to Planck's constant "h" multiplied by the frequency of the light. In this regard, the well-known relationship is as follows: E = hv Equation 1 These photons of a particular energy, and thus of a particular wavelength and frequency, are capable of transferring energy to electrons in the semiconductor material (e.g., promoting electrons from lower energy states into, for example, the conduction band) as well as being capable of creating holes. If the electrons and/or holes are created close enough to the electric field, or if they can wander within a range of influence of such field, the field will typically send an electron to the n-side of the semiconductor and a hole to the p-side of the semiconductor. This movement of electrons and holes will result in further disruption of the electrical neutrality and if an external collection system (e.g., electrical grid) is provided, electrons will flow into and through this grid to their original side (i.e., the p-side) to unite with corresponding holes that the electric field has also sent mere. This flow of electrons provides the current as well as the electric field(s), resulting in a voltage. 'When, both current and voltage are present, power can be created in, for example, an external device. Traditional photovoltaic theory recognizes that incident sunlight is comprised of a number of different wavelengths of light (e.g., infrared, visible, ultraviolet, etc) and thus includes a virtual continuum of different energies, as well as a virtual continuum of different frequencies, most all of which energies/wavelengths/frequencies (e.g., especially in the range of about 200nm to about 1200nm wavelength) have been traditionally viewed as positively interacting with a semiconductor material, as well as some of which energies/wavelengths/frequencies being traditionally viewed as not really causing any positive (or negative) results. In this regard, it has been previously viewed by the prior art, for example, that some incident light does not have sufficient energies to form an electron- hole pair and in such cases these photons may simply pass through the solar cell without any positive or negative interactions with the solar cell. Additionally, it has also been traditionally believed that some photons have too much energy and simply can not interact completely with the solar cell material (e.g., there may be some interactions, but the interaction may be incomplete or that not all of the energy of the photon is, or can be, used by the solar cell). It is known, for example, that one band gap energy that can be made to exist in doped crystalline silicon is about 1.1 eV (1.1 electron Volts). This amount of energy is known as an amount of energy which is required to, for example, free a bound electron to become a freely flowing electron which can be involved in the flow of a current. It has been believed historically that photons having more energy than what is required to free an electron may simply not utilize all of the energy to free an electron and such excess energy is simply lost; whereas it has also been believed that photons that do not have enough energy to free an electron to become involved in the flow of a current simply do not interact at all with the semiconductor material. Thus, it has been believed historically that photons having less than required amounts of energy or more than required amounts of energy (as discussed above) do not interact in a positive or a negative way and such non-interaction has been traditionally blamed as being responsible for the loss of the effectiveness (e.g., in some cases about 70 - 90%) of the radiation or sunlight energy which is incident on a solar cell. Some approaches to increase the efficiency of solar cells have suggested reducing the required band gap energy to a smaller number by utilizing an appropriate combination of dopants, but there is unfortunatery a negative impact associated with such approaches. Particularly, the amount of band gap energy that can be designed into a solar cell substrate material (e.g., crystalline silicon) is limited, because, even though a small band gap may result in the production of more electrons, the traditional view would be that because more photons could be utilized, the width of the band gap also determines the strength of the electric field. Accordingly, if the band gap is too small, even though extra current is provided by the ability of a material, in theory, to absorb more photons and thus promote more electrons to a conduction band, the power output of the cell is lowered because a much smaller voltage is produced. In mis regard, power is the multiplied effect of voltage times current (i.e., P=VI). In attempting to balance the two effects of current and voltage, one ideal band gap width for silicon has been determined to be about 1.4 eV (1.4 electron volts) for a cell made from a single material suitably doped. However, the prior art has not recognized some very important negative effects which impact adversely on the power output of a solar photovoltaic cell. As discussed above, the historical view has been that when incident photons are of too low an energy, the photons do not positively interact with the solar cell semiconductor material, and when photons are of too high an energy, some of the energy may be caused to interact with the solar cell semiconductor material and some of the energy of the photon is simply lost and does not take part in the interaction. However, what all prior art approaches fail to recognize is that there are negative power effects or negative consequences that can result when energies, specifically, incident frequencies or wavelengths, which do not specifically match, for example, the band gap energies present in the semiconductor material. In this regard, the most efficient or highest output from a solar cell would occur when those energies which impart desirable effects (e.g., the controlled excitation of an electron and/or electron hole pair) are applied to (e.g., light incident upon) a photovoltaic material. For example, since light waves are comprised of photons that have been traditionally represented by a wave, when waves or frequencies (i.e., energies according to Equation 1) do not match (e.g., do not match directly or indirectly or are not harmonics of and/or are not heterodynes of particular energies) with the particular energies required to, for example, generate an electron/hole pair (e.g., promote electrons to the conduction band) the particular component wave or frequency of light incident on the solar cell actually may detract or interfere with the production of power from a solar cell (e.g., desirable interactions with photons or waves of light may be at least partially, or substantially completely, offset by negative interactions). Moreover, it should also be clear that positive or desirable effects include, but are not limited to, those effects resulting from an interaction (e.g., hsterodyne, resonance, additive wave, subtractive wave, partial or complete constructive interference or partial or complete destructive interference) between a wavelength or frequency of incident light and a wavelength (e.g., atomic and/or molecular, etc.), frequency or property (e.g.. Stark effects, Zeeman effects, etc.) inherent to the substrate itself. Accordingly, by providing substantially only those energies (i.e., wavelengths and frequencies) of light required to cause desirable excitations in the solar cell photovoltaic materials (e.g., the formation of electron/hole pairs) the entire solar cell actually becomes more efficient. In some cases it may be difficult, if not impossible, to provide only those energies which provide desirable interactions, however, if as many undesirable energies as possible can be blocked, eliminated and/or modified prior to contacting the solar cell photovoltaic material, then the power output of the solar cell will be enhanced. This approach is contrary to the prior art approaches which have attempted to design semiconductor materials such that they may interact directly, or through, for example, various light trapping approaches, with an even broader spectrum of available light energies without regard to limiting particular "negative" light energies from being incident on the solar cell substrates (e.g., limiting incident energies to those partial energy levels (frequency and wavelength) that can result in desirable outputs from the solar cells without any substantial undesirable interactions occurring, due to, for example, utilizing energies of light which actually interfere with the production of power). Accordingly, the present invention satisfies the long felt need in the solar cell industry to render solar cells more efficient by recognizing that it is not desirable for all wavelengths of light within any particular spectrum of light (e.g., natural sunlight) to be incident upon a solar cell photovoltaic substrate (e.g., crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, single crystal silicon, cadmium sulfide, etc.) but rather to reduce or limit the incident light to as many of those wavelengths as possible which can result in predominantly desirable interactions between the incident light and the solar cell's photovoltaic substrate (i.e., in other words, to reduce as many negative or destructively interfering wavelengths of light as possible so as to reduce negative effects of, for example, destructive interference occurring in the photovoltaic substrate). In this regard, there will be a particular combination of specific frequencies of light (Note: light can be referred to by energy, wavelength and/or frequency, but for simplicity, will be referred to in these paragraphs immediately following primarily as "frequency" or "wavelength") that will desirably interact with a solar cell's photovoltaic substrate. The particular frequencies of light that should be caused to be incident upon a solar cell photovoltaic substrate should be as many of those frequencies as possible which can result in desirable effects (e.g., promoting electrons to a conduction band) within the substrate, while eliminating as many of those frequencies as possible which result in undesirable effects within the substrate. In this regard, certain frequencies will add energy to the photovoltaic material by, for example, causing atomic or molecular energies (e.g., electronic) to be provided ; certain frequencies of light will cause electrons to jump the band gap and/or form electron/hole pairs. It is important to note that virtually all of the desirable energies which can be applied to an appropriate photovoltaic substrate material can be calculated theoretically, or determined empirically. For example, if one knows the band gap width that is created within a semiconductor material due to, for example, the doping of the semiconductor with one or more suitable dopants, or the combination of band widths present in the material due to, for example, utilizing multiple suitable dopants, then those particular frequencies of light can be applied so that, for example, electron/hole pairs can be created and/or additional desirable energies can be imparted to, for example, electrons. For example, assuming arguendo that a band width created within a doped silicon semiconductor substrate required a wavelength of, for example, 600nm, to create an electron and/or electron/hole pair, then the application of a wavelength of light of about 600nm would be a very desirable and very effective wavelength to apply. However, all harmonics of a wavelength of 600nm would also be desirable (e.g., 1200,1800, 300,150, etc.). In addition, many heterodynes of 600nm would be desirable (e.g.,If the material has wavelengths 600nm and lOOOnm, the substractive heterodyne is 400nm and the additive heterodyne is 1600nm In addition to the actual frequencies of the material, i.e. 600nm and lOOOnm, the heterodyned frequencies, i.e. 400nm and 1600nm may also be beneficial.) Additionally, in this example, while the exact wavelength of 600nm would be the optimum wavelength to apply (as well as all those wavelengths corresponding to the exact harmonic and exact heterodyne wavelengths) wavelengths which are close to the 600 nm wavelength and thus that are close to the exact harmonic and/or close to the exact heterodyne wavelengths would also be desirable to apply. In this regard, Figure 4 shows atypical bell-shaped curve "B" which represents a distribution of frequencies around the desired frequency f0. Figure 4 thus represents additional desirable frequencies that can be applied which do not correspond exactly to fo, but are close enough to the frequency f0 to achieve a desired effect. In particular, for example, those frequencies between and including the frequencies within the range of f1 and f2 would be most desirable. Note that f1 and f2 correspond to those frequencies above and below the resonant frequency fO, wherein f1, and f2 correspond to about one half the maximum amplitude, amax, of the curve "B'. However, in practice, depending on the particular semiconductor material utilized, some frequencies slightly beyond those represented by the range of frequencies betweemf1, and f2 may also be desirable. In addition to the harmonic and heterodyne frequencies (wavelengths) discussed above, particular energies which provide, for example, atomic or molecular energies (e.g., electronic) can also be permitted to interact with the photovoltaic substrate because providing such energies to the substrate material also is desirable in that energy is being transferred in a desirable manner to the photovoltaic substrate material. Still further, in some instances certain blocks or regions of incident light may be desirable to prevent from contacting a photovoltaic material. In this regard it may be desirable to block out complete portions of infrared wavelengths and/or complete portions of ultraviolet wavelengths to improve performance. The prerise combination of wavelengths or frequencies (and thus energies) that can be permitted to interact with solar cell photovoltaic substrates are important to determine, because essentially the desirable frequencies should be maximized, while the undesirable frequencies should be minimized. There exist numerous theoretical and empirical means for determining desirable and undesirable frequencies (and thus energies) of incident light which should be obvious to those of ordinary skill in this art. In addition, there are numerous means for limiting undesirable frequencies incident upon a substrate material. Some of these different means are discussed later herein. Brief Description of the Accompanying Drawings. The following Figures are provided to assist in the understanding of the invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Similar reference numerals have been used wherever in each of the Figures to denote like components; wherein Figure 1 is a general graphical representation of a typical output response of a crystalline silicon solar cell as a function of wavelength of incident sunlight. Figure 2 shows a sine wave which is representative of incident sunlight. Figure 3 shows a first desirable sine wave 1, a second undesirable sine wave 2 and a combination of the waves 1+2 showing both constructive and destructive interference effects. Figure 4 is a graphical representation depicting the bell-shaped curve of frequencies surrounding a particular representative desirable frequency of light fo. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Figure 1 shows a typical output response for a crystalline silicon solar cell. In this regard, the x-axis corresponds to wavelengths from about 300 nanometers to about 1400 nanometers, which, is the typically desired response range that traditional solar cell manufacturers have sought for the photovoltaic material(s) comprising the solar cell. The y- axis corresponds to a particular output present at various measured wavelengths along the x- axis. The prior art is replete with attempts to describe means for utilizing more and more of the wavelengths contained in sunlight (e.g., light trapping techniques, etc.), however, the prior art misses the point that undesirable effects can also occur at the same time that certain desirable effects are occurring resulting in a canceling or blocking out of some of the desirable effects. In mis regard, for example, Figure 2 shows a first sine wave which corresponds to a particular wavelength " ", a certain amplitude "a" and a frequency of I cycle per second "υ". When the frequency of the sine wave matches perfectty, for example, the band gap energy in a semiconductor material, then substantially all of the energy in the sine wave is transferred into the creation of, for example, an electron/hole pair. However, when the frequency does not match exactly, the prior art believes mat some of the energy may or may not be involved in desirable effects in the photovoltaic substrate material, but the prior art does not recognize that those frequencies which do not match desirable energy levels in a photovoltaic material actually may provide deleterious effects. These deleterious effects can be shown in, for example, Figure 3. Figure 3 shows two different incident sine waves 1 and 2 which correspond to two different energies, wavelengths  and . (and thus different frequencies) of light (or photons) which could be made to be incident upon the surface of a photovoltaic solar cell substrate material. Each of the sine waves 1 and 2 has a different differential equation which describes its individual motion. However, when the sine waves are combined into the resultant additive wave 1+ 2, the resulting complex differential equation, which describes the resultant combined energies, actually results in certain of the input energies being high (i.e., constructive interference) at certain points in time, as well as being low (i.e., destructive interference) at certain points in time. In particular, assuming that the sine wave 1 corresponds to desirable incident energy having a wavelength , which would result in positive or favorable effects if permitted to be incident on a solar cell substrate; and further assuming that the sine wave 2 corresponds to undesirable incident energy having a wavelength , which would not result in positive or favorable effects if permitted to be incident on a solar cell substrate, then fee resultant additive wave 1+2 shows some interesting characteristics. For example, the portions "X" represent areas where the two waves 1 and 2 have at least partially constructively interfered, whereas the portions "Y" represent areas where the two waves 1 and 2 have at least partially destructively interfered. Depending upon whether the portions "X" corresponds to desirable or undesirable wavelengths (i.e., resulting in positive or negative interactions with the substrate, respectively) then the portions "X" could enhance a positive effect in a substrate or could enhance a negative effect in a substrate. Similarly, depending on whether the portions "Y" correspond to desirable or undesirable wavelengths, then the portions "Y" may correspond to the effective loss of either a positive or negative effect. It should be clear from this particular analysis that partial or complete constructive interferences (i.e., the points "X") could maximize both positive and negative effects and that partial or complete destructive interferences "Y" could minimize both positive and negative effects. Accordingly, in this simplified example, by permitting predominantly desirable wavelengths  to be incident upon a semiconductor surface, the possibilities of negative effects resulting from the combination of waves 1 and 2 would be minimized or eliminated. In this regard, it is noted that in practice many desirable incident wavelengths can be made to be incident on a surface of a photovoltaic substrate material. Moreover, it should also be clear that positive or desirable effects include, but are not limited to, those effects resulting from an interaction (e.g., heterodyne, resonance, additive wave, subtractive wave, partially or substantially complete constructive interference, or partially or substantially complete destructive interference) between a wavelength or frequency of incident light and a wavelength (e.g., atomic and/or molecular, etc.), frequency or property (e.g., Stark effects, Zeeman effects, etc.) inherent to the substrate itself. Thus, by maximizing the desirable wavelengtns (or minimizing undesirable wavelengths), solar cell efficiencies never before known can be achieved. Alternatively stated, certain destructive interference effects resulting from the combinations of different energies, frequencies and/or wavelengths can reduce the output in a solar cell photovoltaic substrate material. The present invention attempts to mask or screen as many of such undesirable energies (or wavelengths) as possible from becoming incident on the surface of a photovoltaic substrate and thus strive for, for example, the synergistic results that can occur due to, for example, desirable constructive interference effects between the incident wavelengths of light For example, it is known that glasses of various compositions can absorb, refract and/or reflect certain radiation which comes from the sun. Glasses can be manufactured so that they contain various elements in their structure that can absorb photons of particular energies (and thus wavelengths and frequencies) such that such absorbed energy does not find its way to a material (e.g., a photovoltaic substrate) located behind such glasses. One exemplary' empirical method to determine which wavelengths are the most desirable to be permitted to be incident upon a surface of a photovoltaic substrate utilize a concept related generally to that concept used in a tunable dye laser. Specifically, for example, a tunable die laser, generally, outputs multiple frequencies (or energies) of light from a laser source into a prism. The prism then separates or diffracts the multiple frequencies of light as an output The multiple frequency output from the prism can then be selectively gated by an optical slit (e.g. a micrometer driven grating) which can be precisely positioned to permit transmission of only limited or desired frequencies therethrough. This selective positioning of the optical slit is what causes the laser to be tunable. By utilizing a device which uses one or more blocking portions (e.g. preferably a plurality) of blocking portions rather than an optical slit, wavelengths which are deleterious undesirable for the performance of a solar cell can be determined. The blocking portions can be of any suitable height and width to achieve the desirable blocking of wavelength of light. Accordingly, once it is determined, either theoretically or empirically, which wavelengths are the most desirable to be permitted to be incident upon a surface of a photovoltaic substrate material, then glass can be designed to, for example, absorb as many wavelengths of light as possible except for those wavelengths which result in positive interactions. In this regard, it is well known in the glass industry how to incorporate certain "impurities" into glasses to cause them to absorb various frequencies of light Thus, the glass can be viewed simply as functioning as a filter (when added to an existing solar cell or panel (e.g., retrofitting) or inherently being part of the manufacture of a solar cell or solar panel when originally manufactured) which does not permit certain wavelengths of light to pass therethrough, or rather, permit as many desirable wavelengths of light as possible to pass therethrough. In addition, certain coatings can be placed directly upon an incident surface of a photovoltaic substrate material functioning as a solar cell to assist in blocking certain energies (or wavelengths or frequencies) of light to be incident thereon. In this regard, there may be a need to produce a sandwich or layered structure of materials, for example, on a front surface of a solar cell photovoltaic substrate material such mat the combination of materials actually serve to breakup or prevent certain light from being incident on a photovoltaic surface located behind the layered structure. Further, rather than merely capturing or absorbing undesirable light energies, it would be possible, through the use of, for example, certain physical structures, to cause certain wavelengths of light to be refracted, reflected or otherwise modified and minimize particular undesirable wavelengths, frequencies and/or energies to be incident on a surface of a solar cell photovoltaic substrate material. Furthermore, certain monomer, oligimer. polymer and/or organometallic materials could also be desirable surface materials that could be used alone or in combination with, for example, certain glass materials in an attempt to achieve the goals of the invention, namely, to maximize particular desirable wavelengths, frequencies and/or energies to be incident on a surface of a solar cell substrate material or, alternatively, to minimize particular undesirable wavelengths, frequencies and/or energies from being incident on a surface of a solar cell substrate. Moreover, in certain cases it may be desirable to utilize an iterative-type process, whereby certain solar cell materials are modified slightly in conjunction with the filtering or blocking and/or light refracting materials (e.g., at least one means for modifying incident sunlight prior to sunlight contacting the photovoltaic substrate) which are provided on at least one surface thereof In this regard, it is well known that different dopants can be utilized in different semiconductor materials and that different dopants (or combinations of dopants) can result in different, for example, band gaps or band gap energy widths within a photovoltaic material, as well as different atomic or molecular energies (e.g., electronic which can be excited). Thus, it may be more advantageous to manufacture a particular type of photovoltaic substrate material to be used in conjunction with, for example, certain coverings and/or filters. The combination of the photovoltaic material and the covering and/or filtering material(s) may be different for different applications where the solar cells may experience, for example, higher or lower water contents in the atmosphere, higher or lower energies, higher or lower operating temperatures, etc., all of which factors can influence, for example, band gaps or energy levels within a photovoltaic substrate. All of such factors can be taken into account when designing a system such that the resultant system can provide the maximum effectiveness for the particular solar cells and/or solar panels. Moreover, in a similar regard, certain solar cell applications may find themselves in high temperature environments such as deserts, near the Equator, etc., whereby the operating temperature of the solar cells could be much higher relative, for example, the Arctic or Antarctic, outer space, etc. These higher temperatures can also influence energy levels within a photovoltaic substrate material. In addition, for example, photovoltaic materials located in outer space will, typically, be exposed to frequencies which are different from those frequencies which are incident on similar photovoltaic materials, located, for example, in the earth's atmosphere at sea level. In this regard, the particular combination of solar cell photovoltaic material and at least one means for modifying incident sunlight (e.g., a covering or filter material) may be different in one application or environment versus another. However, it is the goal of the invention that once the particular environment in which the solar cell is going to be operating in is understood, that the most desirable combination of solar cell substrate and covering or filter can be utilized in combination with each other. While there has been illustrated and described what is at present considered to be the preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made, and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from me true scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt the teachings of the invention to a particular situation without departing from the central scope of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that mis invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. WE CLAIM : 1. A device for producing the flow of electrons due to solar energy being incident thereon comprising: at least one solar cell photovoltaic substrate material; means for determining at least one primary band gap width present in a solar cell substrate material; means for determining at least one primary frequency of light corresponding in energy to said at least one primary band gap width; means for determining at least one harmonic and at least one heterodyne of said at least one primary frequency of light; and at least one means for modifying sunlight positioned between said at least one solar cell photovoltaic substrate material and incident sunlight, whereby said at least one means for modifying sunlight permits limited energies of sunlight from about 300 nanometers to about 1400 nanometers corresponding approximately only to said at least one primary frequency, said at least one harmonic and said at least one heterodyne to pass therethrough, so as to reduce negative interactions within said solar cell photovoltaic substrate material relative to unfiltered incident sunlight. 2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one means for modifying sunlight comprises at least one material. 3. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said at least one material comprises at least one cover material which covers at least a portion of at least one surface of said at least one solar cell photovoltaic substrate material. 4. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one solar cell photovoltaic substrate material comprises at least one semiconductor material. 5. The device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said at least one semiconductor material comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of amorphous silicon, crystalline silicon and cadmium sulfide. 6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one means for modifying sunlight minimizes the amount of destructively interfering frequencies of sunlight incident on said photovoltaic substrate material. 7. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one harmonic comprises all harmonics. 8. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one heterodyne comprises all heterodynes. 9. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one primary frequency corresponds to a plurality of primary frequencies of light, said at least one harmonic corresponds to a plurality of harmonics and said at least one heterodyne corresponds to a plurality of heterodynes. 10. The device as claimed in claim 9, wherein said plurality of primary frequencies correspond to those frequencies which are distributed symmetrically about a primary frequency which corresponds to said at least one primary band gap width, said plurality of primary frequencies comprising all of those frequencies which correspond up to at least about one-half of the maximum amplitude associated with said primary frequency. 11. The device as claimed in claim 9, wherein said plurality of harmonics correspond to those frequencies which are distributed symmetrically about each harmonic frequency and which comprise those frequencies which correspond up to at least about one-half of the maximum amplitude associated with each said harmonic frequency. 12. The device as claimed in claim 9, wherein said plurality of heterodynes correspond to those frequencies which are distributed symmetrically about each heterodyne frequency and which comprise those frequencies which correspond up to at least about one-half of the maximum amplitude associated with each said heterodyne frequency. 13. A method of increasing the efficiency of a solar cell photovoltaic substrate material comprising: determining at least one primary band gap width present in a said solar cell photovoltaic substrate material; determining at least one primary frequency of light corresponding in energy to said at least one primary band gap width; determining at least one harmonic and at least one heterodyne of said at least one primary frequency of light; and providing at least one means for filtering sunlight such that said at least one means permits limited energies of sunlight from about 300 nanometers to about 1400 nanometers corresponding approximately only to said at least one primary frequency, said at least one harmonic and said at least one heterodyne to pass therethrough, so as to reduce negative interactions within said solar cell photovoltaic substrate material relative to unfiltered incident sunlight. 14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein said solar cell photovoltaic substrate material is combined with said at least one means for filtering sunlight. 15. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein said at least one means for filtering sunlight reduces the amount of sunlight which does not correspond to said at least one harmonic and said at least one heterodyne. 16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein said solar cell photovoltaic substrate material is combined with said at least one means for filtering sunlight. 17. A method for determining desirable energies corresponding to at least one primary band gap in a solar cell photovoltaic substrate material to be incident on a said solar cell photovoltaic substrate material comprising: determining at least one primary band gap width present in a said solar cell photovoltaic substrate material; determining at least one primary frequency of light from about 300 nanometers to about 1400 nanometers corresponding in energy to said at least one primary band gap width; determining at least one harmonic and at least one heterodyne of said at least one primary frequency of light from about 300 nanometers to about 1400 nanometers; and. providing at least one means for modifying sunlight positioned between said solar cell photovoltaic substrate material and incident sunlight, whereby said at least one means permits limited energies of sunlight from about 300 nanometers to about 1400 nanometers corresponding approximately only to said at least one primary frequency, said at least one harmonic and said at least one heterodyne to pass therethrough, so as to reduce negative interactions with said solar cell photovoltaic substrate material relative to unfiltered incident sunlight. 18. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein all desirable harmonics and all desirable heterodynes of said at least one primary frequency of light are determined. 19. A device for producing the flow of electrons due to solar energy being incident thereon comprising: at least one solar cell photovoltaic substrate material having at least one primary band gap; and at least one means for modifying sunlight, said at least one means being positioned between said at least one solar cell photovoltaic substrate material and incident sunlight, whereby said at least one means permits limited energies of sunlight from about 300 nanometers to about 1400 nanometers corresponding approximately only to at least one primary frequency, at least one harmonic and at least one heterodyne to pass therethrough, so as to reduce negative interactions within said solar cell photovoltaic substrate material relative to unfiltered incident sunlight. 20. The device as claimed in claim 19, wherein said at least one primary frequency corresponds to a plurality of primary frequencies of light, said at least one harmonic corresponds to a plurality of harmonics and said at least one heterodyne corresponds to a plurality of heterodynes. 21. The device as claimed in claim 19, wherein said at least one solar cell photovoltaic substrate material comprises at least one semiconductor material. 22. The device as claimed in claim 21, wherein said at least one semiconductor material comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of amorphous silicon, crystalline silicon and cadmium sulfide. 23. The device as claimed in claim 19, wherein said at least one means for modifying sunlight minimizes the amount of destructively interfering wavelengths of sunlight incident on said photovoltaic substrate material. 24. The device as claimed in claim 19, wherein said at least one primary frequency corresponds to a plurality of primary frequencies of light, said at least one harmonic corresponds to a plurality of harmonics and said at least one heterodyne corresponds to a plurality of heterodynes. 25. The device as claimed in claim 24, wherein said plurality of primary frequencies correspond to those frequencies which are distributed symmetrically about a primary frequency which corresponds to said at least one primary band gap width, said plurality of primary frequencies comprising all of those frequencies which correspond up to at least about one-half of the maximum amplitude associated with said primary frequency. 26. The device as claimed in claim 24, wherein said plurality of harmonics* correspond to those frequencies which are distributed symmetrically about each harmonic frequency and which comprise those frequencies which correspond up to at least about one-half of the maximum amplitude associated with each said harmonic frequency. 27. The device as claimed in claim 24, wherein said plurality of heterodynes correspond to those frequencies which are distributed symmetrically about each heterodyne frequency and which comprise those frequencies which correspond up to at least about one-half of the maximum amplitude associated with each said heterodyne frequency. 28. The device as claimed in claim 19, wherein said at least one means for modifying sunlight comprises at least one material. 29. The device as claimed in claim 19, wherein said at least one material comprises at least one cover material which covers at least a portion of at least one surface of said at least one solar cell photovoltaic substrate material. 30. The device as claimed in claim 19, wherein said at least one means for filtering sunlight reduces the amount of sunlight which does not correspond to said at least one harmonic and said at least one heterodyne. The present invention relates to improvements in solar cell and solar panel photovoltaic materials which cause the solar cells/panels to operate more efficiently. In particular, the present invention focuses primarily on matching or modifying particular incident light energies (e.g. from the sun) to predetermined energy levels in a solar photovoltaic substrate material required to excite, for example, electrons in at least a portion of the substrate material in a desirable manner. In this regard, for example, energy levels of incident light, and thus, corresponding particular wavelengths, such as desirable wavelength (λ1), or frequencies of incident light, can be at least partially matched with various desirable energy levels in a substrate material by filtering out at least a portion of certain undesirable incident light, such as that of wavelength (λ2), that comes into contact with at least a portion of a surface of solar cell photovoltaic substrate.

Full Text

A DEVICE FOR PRODUCING THE FLOW OF ELECTRONS DUE TO SOLAR
ENERGY BEING INCIDENT THEREON AND A METHOD OF INCREASING THE
EFFICIENCY OF A SOLAR CELL PHOTOVOLTAIC SUBSTRATE MATERIAL
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device for producing the flow of electrons due to solar energy
being incident thereon and a method of increasing the efficiency of a solar cell photovoltaic substrate
material. In particular, the present invention focuses primarily on matching or modifying particular
incident light energies (e.g. a semiconductor material) required to excite, for example, electrons in at
least a portion of the substrate material in a desirable manner (e.g. to cause desirable movement of
electrons to result in output amperages previously unobtainable). In this regard, for example, energy
levels of incident light, and thus, corresponding particular wavelengths or frequencies of incident light,
can be at least partiallymatched with various desirable energy levels (e.g. electron band gap energy
levels) in a substrate material by filtering out at least a portion of certain undesirable incident light that
comes into contact with at least a portion of a surface of a solar cell photovoltaic substrate material;
and/or modifying at least a portion of a solar cell photovoltaic substrate material such that such solar
cell substrate material interacts favorably with particular desirable frequencies of incident light; and/or
modifying particular undesirable light energies prior to them becoming incident on the photovoltaic
substrate material to render such light energies more desirable for interactions with the photovoltaic
substrate material.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
For many years, effort has been made to utilize the energy from the sun to produce electricity.
It is well known that on a clear day the sun provides approximately one thousand watts of energy per
square meter almost everywhere on the planet's surface. The historical intention has been to collect
this energy by using, for example, an appropriate solar semiconductor device and utilizing the
collected energy to produce power by the creation of a suitable voltage and to maximize amperage
which is represented by the flow of electrons. However, to date, many photovoltaic cells typically have
an overall efficiency as low as about 10-25%. In this regard, that means that when one thousand watts
of energy are incident on a square meter of a typical photovoltaic cell, somewhere between about 100
and 250 watts of output energy power typically results. This typical low efficiency in solar cells has
been a significant reason for the solar cell industry not growing faster. For example, it is relatively

expensive to manufacture those semiconductor materials currently utilized for solar cells
(e.g., crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, cadmium sulfide, etc.) into solar panels (e.g.,
typically, a plurality of combined solar cells electrically connected together) which includes
the high costs of forming the solar cell substrate materials themselves, the cost of modifying
the substrate materials so that they can become photovoltaic (e.g., doping the semiconductor
substrate material to create substrate p/n junctions, etc.), the placement of electron collecting
grids on surfaces of the solar cells, manufacturing the solar cells into solar panels, etc.
For example, in regard to a first example of utilizing crystalline silicon, one
traditional approach for manufacturing solar cells has included converting scrap silicon
wafers from the semiconductor industry into solar cells by known techniques which include
etching of the solar cells and subsequent processing of the silicon wafers so that 1hey can
function as solar cells. A second technique includes creating relatively thin layers of
crystalline and/or amorphous silicon upon an appropriate substrate and then utilizing
somewhat similar subsequent processing steps to those discussed above to result in a solar
cell/solar panel. In each of these two general approaches to obtaining a suitable photovoltaic
substrate, the semiconducting nature of the silicon is utilized so that when incident light
strikes a doped (e.g., a p-type and/or an n-type doped material) silicon solar cell substrate
material, the incident light can be at least partially absorbed (e.g., a photon of light
corresponding to a certain amount of energy can be absorbed) into the silicon semiconductor.
The absorbed photon results in a transfer of energy to the semiconductor and the transferred
energy can result in electron flow in a circuit (e.g., along with, for example, paired electron
holes flowing in an opposite direction). A flow of electrons is typically referred to as a
current. Solar cells of this type also usually will have a particular voltage associated with the
produced current. By placing or positioning appropriate metal collecting electrodes on, for
example, the top and bottom of the silicon semiconductor material, the electrons produced
can be extracted from the cell as current which can be used, for example, to power an
appropriate external device and/or charge a battery. However, this entire process has
historically been relatively inefficient, making the solar cell industry less than ideal.
Accordingly, there has been a long felt need to enhance the efficiency of solar cells so
that the cost of electricity produced by the solar cell approach can be reduced and thus assist
in making a meaningful impact on the world power supply by, for example, decreasing the
world's dependency on fossil fuels and/or nuclear energy. The present invention satisfies this
long felt need by a novel, simple and reliable approach.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been developed to overcome certain shortcomings of the
prior art photovoltaic materials as well as those techniques used for the manufacture of
numerous compositions of solar cells/solar panels.
It is an object of the invention to produce solar cells out of various known
photovoltaic substrate materials which, in some cases, can be caused to have higher
efficiencies without significantly modifying, if at all modifying, such substrate materials,
relative to known substrate materials used in solar cells.
It is an object of the invention to apply the techniques and methodology of the
invention to at least the photovoltaic substrate materials which include, but are not limited to,
crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, single crystal silicon, cadmium sulfide, gallium
arsenide, GaAs/Ge, GalnP2/GaAs/Ge, copper-indium diselinide, GalnNAs, GaSb, In GaAs,
SiGe, TiO2, AlGaAs, CUInS2, Fullerene C60 and carbonaceous thin films.
Another object of the invention is to limit or restrict certain undesirable incident
wavelengths of light (and thus certain frequencies and energy levels) from becoming incident
upon a solar cell photovoltaic substrate.
It is another object of the invention to limit or restrict (i.e.. minimize) certain
destructively interfering (or at least partially destrctively interfering) incident wavelengths
of hight from becoming incident upon a solar cell photovoltaic substrate so as to maximize the
incidence of constructively interfering (or at least partially constructively interfering) incident
wavelengths which, for example, substantially match those wavelengths (e.g., amounts of
energy) which cause desirable interactions to occur between the incident light and the solar
cell substrate (e.g., excite electrons from a substrate into an appropriate energy collection
system on the substrate (e.g., a conductive grid), to produce desirable electrical current).
Moreover, the incident light energy can be converted to desirable atomic or molecular
energies (e.g., electronic) and thus, for example, further energize the electrons to assist in the
production of electrical power.
It is an object of the invention to determine which particular energies (and thus which
particular wavelengths or frequencies) of incident light are required for any desired solar cell
photovoltaic substrate to permit desirable interactions to occur (e.g., for electrons to be
excited from one energy level to another to result in current; to provide energy to the
electrons which can assist in promoting the electrons to a conduction band to result in
current; and after determining which energies (and thus which wavelengths or frequencies)
are desirable, substantially restricting the wavelengths or frequencies of undesirable incident

light upon said substrate by utilizing an appropriate filtering technique or light modifying
(e.g., shifting, refracting, etc.) technique, thus maximizing those desirable energies of light
which contact or are inciden! upon a solar cell substrate.
It is another object of the invention to restrict and or modify the wavelengths of light
which are incident upon an appropriate solar cell substrate by utilizing at least one external
means for modifying incident sunlight (e.g., a filter or a combination of external filters, a
light refracting means, and/or a light reflecting means, etc ), which mavimize(s) those desired
wavelengths to be incident upon a solar cell photo\ oltaic substrate. Such external means
which include filters, or combinations of external filters, can be incorporated into an original
manufacturing process or can be later added (e.g.. as a coating) as, for example, a retrofitting
step 10 existing solar cells or solar panels.
It is another object of the invention to provide at least one filter for filtering out
certain wavelengths of undesirable incident light by providing a particular covering material
in a solar cell which functions as a filter. In this regard, an appropriate covering material can"
be, for example, suitable poloymer material(s) (including certain monomer(s) and/or
oligomer(s);, or suitable glass(es), suitable coatings, and/or combinations of the same.
It is an object of the invention to provide a glass cover material which is capable of
filtering, refracting and/or reflecting out as many undesirable wavelengths of incident light as
possible and thus maximizing the incidences of those wavelengths of light which desirably
interact with a solar cell photovoltaic substrate material after passing through such a cover
material.
To achieve all of the foregoing objects and advantages, and to overcome the
disadvantages of the prior art solar cell and solar panel designs, the present invention utilizes
a number of novel approaches.
Typical photovoltaic materials convert sunlight directly into electricity. Photovoltaic
cells typically utilize materials known as semiconductors such as crystalline silicon,
amorphous silicon, single crystal silicon, cadmium sulfide, gallium arsenide, etc., as a
substrate or active material in the solar cell. Of these materials, crystalline silicon is currentl)
one of the most commonly used. When sunlight strikes (i.e., is incident upon) a
semiconductor material, it is known that certain energy units within sunlight, known as, and
referred to as, photons, can be absorbed into the semiconductor material. This typically
results in some portion of the energy of incident sunlight being transferred to the
semiconductor material. This transfer of energy can cause. for example, electrons to be
excited from their ground state into one or more excited states which permits such electrons,

in certain cases, to flow somewhat freely within at least a portion of the semiconductor
material (e.g., within a conductor or conduction band in the semiconductor material). These
photovoltaic materials or cells also have at least one electric field which tends to force
electrons to flow in a particular direction, such electrons having been created by the
absorption of light energy (i.e.,. photons) into the semiconductor material. The flow of
electrons is typically regarded and referred to as a current. By placing appropriate electrodes
(e.g., one or more metal grids) on the front and back side of a photovoltaic cell, the flow of
electrons can generate a current which can be used to drive electric motors, charge batteries.
etc. It is the flow of electrons or current, combined with the voltage produced by the cell
(e.g., which is a direct result of any built-in electric field or fields), which defines the total
output or power that a solar cell, or group of solar cells in a panel or array, can produce.
The following discussion places particular emphasis on crystalline silicon, however,
such discussion applies in a parallel manner to other photovoltaic materials as well. An atom
of silicon is known to have 14 electrons in three different shells. The first two of these shells
closest to the nucleus are regarded as being completely filled with electrons. However, the
outer shell is regarded as being only half full and contains only four electrons. This is what
makes crystalline silicon, when appropriately doped, a good semiconductor material and thus
useful as a solar cell substrate material. In this regard, an individual silicon atom is
considered to be driven to attempt to fill its outermost shell with eight electrons. In order to
fill its outermost shell, the silicon atom is thought to need to share electrons with, for
example, four of its neighboring silicon atoms. This attempt to share electrons with
neighboring silicon atoms is essentially what forms the crystalline structure of silicon and this
structure is important to the formation of this type of photovoltaic cell.
In most cases, silicon desirably includes dopants which are added to the crystalline
structure to cause the silicon to work as a better semiconductor. Traditional dopants that have
been historically used in the manufacture of crystalline silicon semiconductor materials
include boron, phosphorous, indium, etc., the particular dopant(s) being chosen to result in
desired p-type and/or n-type characteristics of at least a portion of a semiconductor. A more
complete list of dopants than those listed above that have been used with a variety of different
photovoltaic materials include, but are not limited to, germanium, beryllium, magnesium,
selenium, cadmium, zinc, mercury, oxygen, chlorine, iodine and organometallic dyes (e.g.,
Rv(SCN)2 C2). The purpose of these dopants is to cause, for example, the silicon to function
as a better semiconductor material. By utilizing suitable dopants, me amount of energy
required to be input into, for example, a silicon semiconductor to produce or promote

electrons to flow is reduced significantly relative to an undoped silicon semiconductor
material because in doped silicon, the electrons are not bound in a chemical bond in the same
way that undoped silicon electrons are. It is desirable to have present in different portions of
a silicon-based solar cell each of an n-type behavior and a p-type behavior. For example,
phosphorous can be added as a dopant to result in an n-type semiconductor portion of a
silicon material and boron can be added to another portion of a semiconductor material to
result in a p-type portion in a silicon semiconductor material. N-type doped materials are
typically associated with the letter "n" because such materials have the presence of free
electrons (i.e., n = negative); whereas p-type materials are typically associated with the letter
"p" because such materials have free holes (i.e., the opposite of electrons and p = positive).
The concept of holes is viewed as being important in a solar cell semiconductor material
because holes are thought to be the equivalent to the absence of electrons which carry a
positive charge in an opposite direction from the electron flow and are thought to move
around like electrons.
According!}', when both p-type and n-type portions or materials are combined into a
single material, at least one electric field will form due to the n-type and p-type portions of
silicon being in contact with each other. In particular, free electrons on the n-side of the
semiconductor recognize the presence of holes on the p-side of the semiconductor and
attempt to fill in these holes by moving there. For example, in the junction between n-type
and p-type portions or sections within a semiconductor material, there is a mixture of holes
and electrons which reach equilibrium and thus create at least one electric field separating the
two sides. This field actually functions as a diode which permits (e.g., in some cases even
pushes) electrons to flow from the p-side to the n-side (e.g., but, typically, not the other way
around).
Accordingly, when photons of light become incident upon me semiconductor
material, the photons of light contain a certain amount of energy "E". This amount of energy
"E".is equal to Planck's constant "h" multiplied by the frequency of the light. In this regard,
the well-known relationship is as follows:
E = hv Equation 1
These photons of a particular energy, and thus of a particular wavelength and frequency, are
capable of transferring energy to electrons in the semiconductor material (e.g., promoting
electrons from lower energy states into, for example, the conduction band) as well as being
capable of creating holes. If the electrons and/or holes are created close enough to the
electric field, or if they can wander within a range of influence of such field, the field will

typically send an electron to the n-side of the semiconductor and a hole to the p-side of the
semiconductor. This movement of electrons and holes will result in further disruption of the
electrical neutrality and if an external collection system (e.g., electrical grid) is provided,
electrons will flow into and through this grid to their original side (i.e., the p-side) to unite
with corresponding holes that the electric field has also sent mere. This flow of electrons
provides the current as well as the electric field(s), resulting in a voltage. 'When, both current
and voltage are present, power can be created in, for example, an external device.
Traditional photovoltaic theory recognizes that incident sunlight is comprised of a
number of different wavelengths of light (e.g., infrared, visible, ultraviolet, etc) and thus
includes a virtual continuum of different energies, as well as a virtual continuum of different
frequencies, most all of which energies/wavelengths/frequencies (e.g., especially in the range
of about 200nm to about 1200nm wavelength) have been traditionally viewed as positively
interacting with a semiconductor material, as well as some of which
energies/wavelengths/frequencies being traditionally viewed as not really causing any
positive (or negative) results. In this regard, it has been previously viewed by the prior art,
for example, that some incident light does not have sufficient energies to form an electron-
hole pair and in such cases these photons may simply pass through the solar cell without any
positive or negative interactions with the solar cell. Additionally, it has also been
traditionally believed that some photons have too much energy and simply can not interact
completely with the solar cell material (e.g., there may be some interactions, but the
interaction may be incomplete or that not all of the energy of the photon is, or can be, used by
the solar cell).
It is known, for example, that one band gap energy that can be made to exist in doped
crystalline silicon is about 1.1 eV (1.1 electron Volts). This amount of energy is known as an
amount of energy which is required to, for example, free a bound electron to become a freely
flowing electron which can be involved in the flow of a current. It has been believed
historically that photons having more energy than what is required to free an electron may
simply not utilize all of the energy to free an electron and such excess energy is simply lost;
whereas it has also been believed that photons that do not have enough energy to free an
electron to become involved in the flow of a current simply do not interact at all with the
semiconductor material. Thus, it has been believed historically that photons having less than
required amounts of energy or more than required amounts of energy (as discussed above) do
not interact in a positive or a negative way and such non-interaction has been traditionally
blamed as being responsible for the loss of the effectiveness (e.g., in some cases about 70 -

90%) of the radiation or sunlight energy which is incident on a solar cell. Some approaches to
increase the efficiency of solar cells have suggested reducing the required band gap energy to
a smaller number by utilizing an appropriate combination of dopants, but there is
unfortunatery a negative impact associated with such approaches. Particularly, the amount of
band gap energy that can be designed into a solar cell substrate material (e.g., crystalline
silicon) is limited, because, even though a small band gap may result in the production of
more electrons, the traditional view would be that because more photons could be utilized,
the width of the band gap also determines the strength of the electric field. Accordingly, if
the band gap is too small, even though extra current is provided by the ability of a material, in
theory, to absorb more photons and thus promote more electrons to a conduction band, the
power output of the cell is lowered because a much smaller voltage is produced. In mis
regard, power is the multiplied effect of voltage times current (i.e., P=VI). In attempting to
balance the two effects of current and voltage, one ideal band gap width for silicon has been
determined to be about 1.4 eV (1.4 electron volts) for a cell made from a single material
suitably doped.
However, the prior art has not recognized some very important negative effects which
impact adversely on the power output of a solar photovoltaic cell. As discussed above, the
historical view has been that when incident photons are of too low an energy, the photons do
not positively interact with the solar cell semiconductor material, and when photons are of
too high an energy, some of the energy may be caused to interact with the solar cell
semiconductor material and some of the energy of the photon is simply lost and does not take
part in the interaction. However, what all prior art approaches fail to recognize is that there
are negative power effects or negative consequences that can result when energies,
specifically, incident frequencies or wavelengths, which do not specifically match, for
example, the band gap energies present in the semiconductor material. In this regard, the
most efficient or highest output from a solar cell would occur when those energies which
impart desirable effects (e.g., the controlled excitation of an electron and/or electron hole
pair) are applied to (e.g., light incident upon) a photovoltaic material. For example, since
light waves are comprised of photons that have been traditionally represented by a wave,
when waves or frequencies (i.e., energies according to Equation 1) do not match (e.g., do not
match directly or indirectly or are not harmonics of and/or are not heterodynes of particular
energies) with the particular energies required to, for example, generate an electron/hole pair
(e.g., promote electrons to the conduction band) the particular component wave or frequency
of light incident on the solar cell actually may detract or interfere with the production of

power from a solar cell (e.g., desirable interactions with photons or waves of light may be at
least partially, or substantially completely, offset by negative interactions).
Moreover, it should also be clear that positive or desirable effects include, but are not
limited to, those effects resulting from an interaction (e.g., hsterodyne, resonance, additive
wave, subtractive wave, partial or complete constructive interference or partial or complete
destructive interference) between a wavelength or frequency of incident light and a
wavelength (e.g., atomic and/or molecular, etc.), frequency or property (e.g.. Stark effects,
Zeeman effects, etc.) inherent to the substrate itself. Accordingly, by providing substantially
only those energies (i.e., wavelengths and frequencies) of light required to cause desirable
excitations in the solar cell photovoltaic materials (e.g., the formation of electron/hole pairs)
the entire solar cell actually becomes more efficient. In some cases it may be difficult, if not
impossible, to provide only those energies which provide desirable interactions, however, if
as many undesirable energies as possible can be blocked, eliminated and/or modified prior to
contacting the solar cell photovoltaic material, then the power output of the solar cell will be
enhanced. This approach is contrary to the prior art approaches which have attempted to
design semiconductor materials such that they may interact directly, or through, for example,
various light trapping approaches, with an even broader spectrum of available light energies
without regard to limiting particular "negative" light energies from being incident on the
solar cell substrates (e.g., limiting incident energies to those partial energy levels (frequency
and wavelength) that can result in desirable outputs from the solar cells without any
substantial undesirable interactions occurring, due to, for example, utilizing energies of light
which actually interfere with the production of power).
Accordingly, the present invention satisfies the long felt need in the solar cell industry
to render solar cells more efficient by recognizing that it is not desirable for all wavelengths
of light within any particular spectrum of light (e.g., natural sunlight) to be incident upon a
solar cell photovoltaic substrate (e.g., crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, single crystal
silicon, cadmium sulfide, etc.) but rather to reduce or limit the incident light to as many of
those wavelengths as possible which can result in predominantly desirable interactions
between the incident light and the solar cell's photovoltaic substrate (i.e., in other words, to
reduce as many negative or destructively interfering wavelengths of light as possible so as to
reduce negative effects of, for example, destructive interference occurring in the photovoltaic
substrate).
In this regard, there will be a particular combination of specific frequencies of light
(Note: light can be referred to by energy, wavelength and/or frequency, but for simplicity,

will be referred to in these paragraphs immediately following primarily as "frequency" or
"wavelength") that will desirably interact with a solar cell's photovoltaic substrate. The
particular frequencies of light that should be caused to be incident upon a solar cell
photovoltaic substrate should be as many of those frequencies as possible which can result in
desirable effects (e.g., promoting electrons to a conduction band) within the substrate, while
eliminating as many of those frequencies as possible which result in undesirable effects
within the substrate. In this regard, certain frequencies will add energy to the photovoltaic
material by, for example, causing atomic or molecular energies (e.g., electronic) to be
provided ; certain frequencies of light will cause electrons to jump the band gap and/or form
electron/hole pairs. It is important to note that virtually all of the desirable energies which
can be applied to an appropriate photovoltaic substrate material can be calculated
theoretically, or determined empirically. For example, if one knows the band gap width that
is created within a semiconductor material due to, for example, the doping of the
semiconductor with one or more suitable dopants, or the combination of band widths present
in the material due to, for example, utilizing multiple suitable dopants, then those particular
frequencies of light can be applied so that, for example, electron/hole pairs can be created
and/or additional desirable energies can be imparted to, for example, electrons. For example,
assuming arguendo that a band width created within a doped silicon semiconductor substrate
required a wavelength of, for example, 600nm, to create an electron and/or electron/hole pair,
then the application of a wavelength of light of about 600nm would be a very desirable and
very effective wavelength to apply. However, all harmonics of a wavelength of 600nm
would also be desirable (e.g., 1200,1800, 300,150, etc.). In addition, many heterodynes of
600nm would be desirable (e.g.,If the material has wavelengths 600nm and lOOOnm, the
substractive heterodyne is 400nm and the additive heterodyne is 1600nm In addition to the
actual frequencies of the material, i.e. 600nm and lOOOnm, the heterodyned frequencies, i.e.
400nm and 1600nm may also be beneficial.) Additionally, in this example, while the exact
wavelength of 600nm would be the optimum wavelength to apply (as well as all those
wavelengths corresponding to the exact harmonic and exact heterodyne wavelengths)
wavelengths which are close to the 600 nm wavelength and thus that are close to the exact
harmonic and/or close to the exact heterodyne wavelengths would also be desirable to apply.
In this regard, Figure 4 shows atypical bell-shaped curve "B" which represents a distribution
of frequencies around the desired frequency f0.
Figure 4 thus represents additional desirable frequencies that can be applied which do
not correspond exactly to fo, but are close enough to the frequency f0 to achieve a desired

effect. In particular, for example, those frequencies between and including the frequencies
within the range of f1 and f2 would be most desirable. Note that f1 and f2 correspond to those
frequencies above and below the resonant frequency fO, wherein f1, and f2 correspond to about
one half the maximum amplitude, amax, of the curve "B'. However, in practice, depending on
the particular semiconductor material utilized, some frequencies slightly beyond those
represented by the range of frequencies betweemf1, and f2 may also be desirable.
In addition to the harmonic and heterodyne frequencies (wavelengths) discussed
above, particular energies which provide, for example, atomic or molecular energies (e.g.,
electronic) can also be permitted to interact with the photovoltaic substrate because providing
such energies to the substrate material also is desirable in that energy is being transferred in a
desirable manner to the photovoltaic substrate material.
Still further, in some instances certain blocks or regions of incident light may be
desirable to prevent from contacting a photovoltaic material. In this regard it may be
desirable to block out complete portions of infrared wavelengths and/or complete portions of
ultraviolet wavelengths to improve performance.
The prerise combination of wavelengths or frequencies (and thus energies) that can be
permitted to interact with solar cell photovoltaic substrates are important to determine,
because essentially the desirable frequencies should be maximized, while the undesirable
frequencies should be minimized.
There exist numerous theoretical and empirical means for determining desirable and
undesirable frequencies (and thus energies) of incident light which should be obvious to those
of ordinary skill in this art. In addition, there are numerous means for limiting undesirable
frequencies incident upon a substrate material. Some of these different means are discussed
later herein.
Brief Description of the Accompanying Drawings.
The following Figures are provided to assist in the understanding of the invention, but
are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Similar reference numerals have been
used wherever in each of the Figures to denote like components; wherein
Figure 1 is a general graphical representation of a typical output response of a
crystalline silicon solar cell as a function of wavelength of incident sunlight.
Figure 2 shows a sine wave which is representative of incident sunlight.
Figure 3 shows a first desirable sine wave 1, a second undesirable sine wave 2 and a
combination of the waves 1+2 showing both constructive and destructive interference
effects.

Figure 4 is a graphical representation depicting the bell-shaped curve of frequencies
surrounding a particular representative desirable frequency of light fo.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Figure 1 shows a typical output response for a crystalline silicon solar cell. In this
regard, the x-axis corresponds to wavelengths from about 300 nanometers to about 1400
nanometers, which, is the typically desired response range that traditional solar cell
manufacturers have sought for the photovoltaic material(s) comprising the solar cell. The y-
axis corresponds to a particular output present at various measured wavelengths along the x-
axis. The prior art is replete with attempts to describe means for utilizing more and more of
the wavelengths contained in sunlight (e.g., light trapping techniques, etc.), however, the
prior art misses the point that undesirable effects can also occur at the same time that certain
desirable effects are occurring resulting in a canceling or blocking out of some of the
desirable effects.
In mis regard, for example, Figure 2 shows a first sine wave which corresponds to a
particular wavelength " ", a certain amplitude "a" and a frequency of I cycle per second
"υ". When the frequency of the sine wave matches perfectty, for example, the band gap
energy in a semiconductor material, then substantially all of the energy in the sine wave is
transferred into the creation of, for example, an electron/hole pair. However, when the
frequency does not match exactly, the prior art believes mat some of the energy may or may
not be involved in desirable effects in the photovoltaic substrate material, but the prior art
does not recognize that those frequencies which do not match desirable energy levels in a
photovoltaic material actually may provide deleterious effects. These deleterious effects can
be shown in, for example, Figure 3.
Figure 3 shows two different incident sine waves 1 and 2 which correspond to two
different energies, wavelengths  and . (and thus different frequencies) of light (or photons)
which could be made to be incident upon the surface of a photovoltaic solar cell substrate
material. Each of the sine waves 1 and 2 has a different differential equation which describes
its individual motion. However, when the sine waves are combined into the resultant additive
wave 1+ 2, the resulting complex differential equation, which describes the resultant
combined energies, actually results in certain of the input energies being high (i.e.,
constructive interference) at certain points in time, as well as being low (i.e., destructive
interference) at certain points in time.
In particular, assuming that the sine wave 1 corresponds to desirable incident energy
having a wavelength , which would result in positive or favorable effects if permitted to be

incident on a solar cell substrate; and further assuming that the sine wave 2 corresponds to
undesirable incident energy having a wavelength , which would not result in positive or
favorable effects if permitted to be incident on a solar cell substrate, then fee resultant
additive wave 1+2 shows some interesting characteristics. For example, the portions "X"
represent areas where the two waves 1 and 2 have at least partially constructively interfered,
whereas the portions "Y" represent areas where the two waves 1 and 2 have at least partially
destructively interfered. Depending upon whether the portions "X" corresponds to desirable
or undesirable wavelengths (i.e., resulting in positive or negative interactions with the
substrate, respectively) then the portions "X" could enhance a positive effect in a substrate or
could enhance a negative effect in a substrate. Similarly, depending on whether the portions
"Y" correspond to desirable or undesirable wavelengths, then the portions "Y" may
correspond to the effective loss of either a positive or negative effect.
It should be clear from this particular analysis that partial or complete constructive
interferences (i.e., the points "X") could maximize both positive and negative effects and that
partial or complete destructive interferences "Y" could minimize both positive and negative
effects. Accordingly, in this simplified example, by permitting predominantly desirable
wavelengths  to be incident upon a semiconductor surface, the possibilities of negative
effects resulting from the combination of waves 1 and 2 would be minimized or eliminated.
In this regard, it is noted that in practice many desirable incident wavelengths can be made to
be incident on a surface of a photovoltaic substrate material. Moreover, it should also be
clear that positive or desirable effects include, but are not limited to, those effects resulting
from an interaction (e.g., heterodyne, resonance, additive wave, subtractive wave, partially or
substantially complete constructive interference, or partially or substantially complete
destructive interference) between a wavelength or frequency of incident light and a
wavelength (e.g., atomic and/or molecular, etc.), frequency or property (e.g., Stark effects,
Zeeman effects, etc.) inherent to the substrate itself. Thus, by maximizing the desirable
wavelengtns (or minimizing undesirable wavelengths), solar cell efficiencies never before
known can be achieved. Alternatively stated, certain destructive interference effects resulting
from the combinations of different energies, frequencies and/or wavelengths can reduce the
output in a solar cell photovoltaic substrate material. The present invention attempts to mask
or screen as many of such undesirable energies (or wavelengths) as possible from becoming
incident on the surface of a photovoltaic substrate and thus strive for, for example, the
synergistic results that can occur due to, for example, desirable constructive interference
effects between the incident wavelengths of light

For example, it is known that glasses of various compositions can absorb, refract
and/or reflect certain radiation which comes from the sun. Glasses can be manufactured so
that they contain various elements in their structure that can absorb photons of particular
energies (and thus wavelengths and frequencies) such that such absorbed energy does not
find its way to a material (e.g., a photovoltaic substrate) located behind such glasses.
One exemplary' empirical method to determine which wavelengths are the most
desirable to be permitted to be incident upon a surface of a photovoltaic substrate utilize a
concept related generally to that concept used in a tunable dye laser. Specifically, for
example, a tunable die laser, generally, outputs multiple frequencies (or energies) of light
from a laser source into a prism. The prism then separates or diffracts the multiple
frequencies of light as an output The multiple frequency output from the prism can then be
selectively gated by an optical slit (e.g. a micrometer driven grating) which can be precisely
positioned to permit transmission of only limited or desired frequencies therethrough. This
selective positioning of the optical slit is what causes the laser to be tunable. By utilizing a
device which uses one or more blocking portions (e.g. preferably a plurality) of blocking
portions rather than an optical slit, wavelengths which are deleterious undesirable for the
performance of a solar cell can be determined. The blocking portions can be of any suitable
height and width to achieve the desirable blocking of wavelength of light.
Accordingly, once it is determined, either theoretically or empirically, which
wavelengths are the most desirable to be permitted to be incident upon a surface of a
photovoltaic substrate material, then glass can be designed to, for example, absorb as many
wavelengths of light as possible except for those wavelengths which result in positive
interactions. In this regard, it is well known in the glass industry how to incorporate certain
"impurities" into glasses to cause them to absorb various frequencies of light Thus, the glass
can be viewed simply as functioning as a filter (when added to an existing solar cell or panel
(e.g., retrofitting) or inherently being part of the manufacture of a solar cell or solar panel
when originally manufactured) which does not permit certain wavelengths of light to pass
therethrough, or rather, permit as many desirable wavelengths of light as possible to pass
therethrough. In addition, certain coatings can be placed directly upon an incident surface of
a photovoltaic substrate material functioning as a solar cell to assist in blocking certain
energies (or wavelengths or frequencies) of light to be incident thereon. In this regard, there
may be a need to produce a sandwich or layered structure of materials, for example, on a
front surface of a solar cell photovoltaic substrate material such mat the combination of
materials actually serve to breakup or prevent certain light from being incident on a

photovoltaic surface located behind the layered structure. Further, rather than merely
capturing or absorbing undesirable light energies, it would be possible, through the use of, for
example, certain physical structures, to cause certain wavelengths of light to be refracted,
reflected or otherwise modified and minimize particular undesirable wavelengths, frequencies
and/or energies to be incident on a surface of a solar cell photovoltaic substrate material.
Furthermore, certain monomer, oligimer. polymer and/or organometallic materials
could also be desirable surface materials that could be used alone or in combination with, for
example, certain glass materials in an attempt to achieve the goals of the invention, namely,
to maximize particular desirable wavelengths, frequencies and/or energies to be incident on a
surface of a solar cell substrate material or, alternatively, to minimize particular undesirable
wavelengths, frequencies and/or energies from being incident on a surface of a solar cell
substrate.
Moreover, in certain cases it may be desirable to utilize an iterative-type process,
whereby certain solar cell materials are modified slightly in conjunction with the filtering or
blocking and/or light refracting materials (e.g., at least one means for modifying incident
sunlight prior to sunlight contacting the photovoltaic substrate) which are provided on at least
one surface thereof In this regard, it is well known that different dopants can be utilized in
different semiconductor materials and that different dopants (or combinations of dopants) can
result in different, for example, band gaps or band gap energy widths within a photovoltaic
material, as well as different atomic or molecular energies (e.g., electronic which can be
excited). Thus, it may be more advantageous to manufacture a particular type of photovoltaic
substrate material to be used in conjunction with, for example, certain coverings and/or
filters. The combination of the photovoltaic material and the covering and/or filtering
material(s) may be different for different applications where the solar cells may experience,
for example, higher or lower water contents in the atmosphere, higher or lower energies,
higher or lower operating temperatures, etc., all of which factors can influence, for example,
band gaps or energy levels within a photovoltaic substrate. All of such factors can be taken
into account when designing a system such that the resultant system can provide the
maximum effectiveness for the particular solar cells and/or solar panels. Moreover, in a
similar regard, certain solar cell applications may find themselves in high temperature
environments such as deserts, near the Equator, etc., whereby the operating temperature of
the solar cells could be much higher relative, for example, the Arctic or Antarctic, outer
space, etc. These higher temperatures can also influence energy levels within a photovoltaic
substrate material. In addition, for example, photovoltaic materials located in outer space

will, typically, be exposed to frequencies which are different from those frequencies which
are incident on similar photovoltaic materials, located, for example, in the earth's atmosphere
at sea level. In this regard, the particular combination of solar cell photovoltaic material and
at least one means for modifying incident sunlight (e.g., a covering or filter material) may be
different in one application or environment versus another. However, it is the goal of the
invention that once the particular environment in which the solar cell is going to be operating
in is understood, that the most desirable combination of solar cell substrate and covering or
filter can be utilized in combination with each other.
While there has been illustrated and described what is at present considered to be the
preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the
art that various changes and modifications may be made, and equivalents may be substituted
for elements thereof without departing from me true scope of the invention. In addition,
many modifications may be made to adapt the teachings of the invention to a particular
situation without departing from the central scope of the invention. Therefore, it is intended
that mis invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode
contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all
embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

WE CLAIM :
1. A device for producing the flow of electrons due to solar energy being
incident thereon comprising:
at least one solar cell photovoltaic substrate material;
means for determining at least one primary band gap width present in a
solar cell substrate material;
means for determining at least one primary frequency of light
corresponding in energy to said at least one primary band gap width;
means for determining at least one harmonic and at least one heterodyne
of said at least one primary frequency of light; and
at least one means for modifying sunlight positioned between said at least
one solar cell photovoltaic substrate material and incident sunlight, whereby said
at least one means for modifying sunlight permits limited energies of sunlight
from about 300 nanometers to about 1400 nanometers corresponding
approximately only to said at least one primary frequency, said at least one
harmonic and said at least one heterodyne to pass therethrough, so as to reduce
negative interactions within said solar cell photovoltaic substrate material relative
to unfiltered incident sunlight.
2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one means for
modifying sunlight comprises at least one material.
3. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said at least one material
comprises at least one cover material which covers at least a portion of at least
one surface of said at least one solar cell photovoltaic substrate material.
4. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one solar cell
photovoltaic substrate material comprises at least one semiconductor material.

5. The device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said at least one semiconductor
material comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of
amorphous silicon, crystalline silicon and cadmium sulfide.
6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one means for
modifying sunlight minimizes the amount of destructively interfering frequencies
of sunlight incident on said photovoltaic substrate material.
7. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one harmonic
comprises all harmonics.
8. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one heterodyne
comprises all heterodynes.
9. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one primary
frequency corresponds to a plurality of primary frequencies of light, said at least
one harmonic corresponds to a plurality of harmonics and said at least one
heterodyne corresponds to a plurality of heterodynes.
10. The device as claimed in claim 9, wherein said plurality of primary
frequencies correspond to those frequencies which are distributed symmetrically
about a primary frequency which corresponds to said at least one primary band
gap width, said plurality of primary frequencies comprising all of those
frequencies which correspond up to at least about one-half of the maximum
amplitude associated with said primary frequency.
11. The device as claimed in claim 9, wherein said plurality of harmonics
correspond to those frequencies which are distributed symmetrically about each
harmonic frequency and which comprise those frequencies which correspond up

to at least about one-half of the maximum amplitude associated with each said
harmonic frequency.
12. The device as claimed in claim 9, wherein said plurality of heterodynes
correspond to those frequencies which are distributed symmetrically about each
heterodyne frequency and which comprise those frequencies which correspond
up to at least about one-half of the maximum amplitude associated with each
said heterodyne frequency.
13. A method of increasing the efficiency of a solar cell photovoltaic substrate
material comprising:
determining at least one primary band gap width present in a said solar
cell photovoltaic substrate material;
determining at least one primary frequency of light corresponding in
energy to said at least one primary band gap width;
determining at least one harmonic and at least one heterodyne of said at
least one primary frequency of light; and
providing at least one means for filtering sunlight such that said at least
one means permits limited energies of sunlight from about 300 nanometers to
about 1400 nanometers corresponding approximately only to said at least one
primary frequency, said at least one harmonic and said at least one heterodyne
to pass therethrough, so as to reduce negative interactions within said solar cell
photovoltaic substrate material relative to unfiltered incident sunlight.
14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein said solar cell photovoltaic
substrate material is combined with said at least one means for filtering sunlight.
15. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein said at least one means for
filtering sunlight reduces the amount of sunlight which does not correspond to
said at least one harmonic and said at least one heterodyne.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein said solar cell photovoltaic
substrate material is combined with said at least one means for filtering sunlight.
17. A method for determining desirable energies corresponding to at least one
primary band gap in a solar cell photovoltaic substrate material to be incident on
a said solar cell photovoltaic substrate material comprising:
determining at least one primary band gap width present in a said solar
cell photovoltaic substrate material;
determining at least one primary frequency of light from about 300
nanometers to about 1400 nanometers corresponding in energy to said at least
one primary band gap width;
determining at least one harmonic and at least one heterodyne of said at
least one primary frequency of light from about 300 nanometers to about 1400
nanometers; and.
providing at least one means for modifying sunlight positioned between
said solar cell photovoltaic substrate material and incident sunlight, whereby said
at least one means permits limited energies of sunlight from about 300
nanometers to about 1400 nanometers corresponding approximately only to said
at least one primary frequency, said at least one harmonic and said at least one
heterodyne to pass therethrough, so as to reduce negative interactions with said
solar cell photovoltaic substrate material relative to unfiltered incident sunlight.
18. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein all desirable harmonics and
all desirable heterodynes of said at least one primary frequency of light are
determined.
19. A device for producing the flow of electrons due to solar energy being
incident thereon comprising:
at least one solar cell photovoltaic substrate material having at least one
primary band gap; and

at least one means for modifying sunlight, said at least one means being
positioned between said at least one solar cell photovoltaic substrate material
and incident sunlight, whereby said at least one means permits limited energies
of sunlight from about 300 nanometers to about 1400 nanometers corresponding
approximately only to at least one primary frequency, at least one harmonic and
at least one heterodyne to pass therethrough, so as to reduce negative
interactions within said solar cell photovoltaic substrate material relative to
unfiltered incident sunlight.
20. The device as claimed in claim 19, wherein said at least one primary
frequency corresponds to a plurality of primary frequencies of light, said at least
one harmonic corresponds to a plurality of harmonics and said at least one
heterodyne corresponds to a plurality of heterodynes.
21. The device as claimed in claim 19, wherein said at least one solar cell
photovoltaic substrate material comprises at least one semiconductor material.
22. The device as claimed in claim 21, wherein said at least one
semiconductor material comprises at least one material selected from the group
consisting of amorphous silicon, crystalline silicon and cadmium sulfide.
23. The device as claimed in claim 19, wherein said at least one means for
modifying sunlight minimizes the amount of destructively interfering wavelengths
of sunlight incident on said photovoltaic substrate material.
24. The device as claimed in claim 19, wherein said at least one primary
frequency corresponds to a plurality of primary frequencies of light, said at least
one harmonic corresponds to a plurality of harmonics and said at least one
heterodyne corresponds to a plurality of heterodynes.

25. The device as claimed in claim 24, wherein said plurality of primary
frequencies correspond to those frequencies which are distributed symmetrically
about a primary frequency which corresponds to said at least one primary band
gap width, said plurality of primary frequencies comprising all of those
frequencies which correspond up to at least about one-half of the maximum
amplitude associated with said primary frequency.
26. The device as claimed in claim 24, wherein said plurality of harmonics*
correspond to those frequencies which are distributed symmetrically about each
harmonic frequency and which comprise those frequencies which correspond up
to at least about one-half of the maximum amplitude associated with each said
harmonic frequency.
27. The device as claimed in claim 24, wherein said plurality of heterodynes
correspond to those frequencies which are distributed symmetrically about each
heterodyne frequency and which comprise those frequencies which correspond
up to at least about one-half of the maximum amplitude associated with each
said heterodyne frequency.
28. The device as claimed in claim 19, wherein said at least one means for
modifying sunlight comprises at least one material.
29. The device as claimed in claim 19, wherein said at least one material
comprises at least one cover material which covers at least a portion of at least
one surface of said at least one solar cell photovoltaic substrate material.
30. The device as claimed in claim 19, wherein said at least one means for
filtering sunlight reduces the amount of sunlight which does not correspond to
said at least one harmonic and said at least one heterodyne.

The present invention relates to improvements in solar cell and solar panel photovoltaic materials which cause the solar cells/panels to operate more efficiently. In particular, the present invention focuses primarily on matching or modifying particular incident light energies (e.g. from the sun) to predetermined energy levels in a solar photovoltaic substrate material required to excite, for example, electrons in at least a portion of the substrate material in a desirable manner. In this regard, for example, energy levels of incident light, and thus, corresponding particular wavelengths, such as desirable wavelength (λ1), or
frequencies of incident light, can be at least partially matched with various desirable energy levels in a substrate material by filtering out at least a portion of certain undesirable incident light, such as that of wavelength (λ2), that comes into contact with at least a portion of a surface of solar cell photovoltaic substrate.

Documents:

1559-KOLNP-2003-CORRESPONDENCE.pdf

1559-KOLNP-2003-FORM 27.pdf

1559-KOLNP-2003-FORM-27.pdf

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Patent Number

235039

Indian Patent Application Number

1559/KOLNP/2003

PG Journal Number

26/2009

Publication Date

26-Jun-2009

Grant Date

24-Jun-2009

Date of Filing

01-Dec-2003

Name of Patentee

GR INTELLECTUAL RESERVE, LLC.

Applicant Address

ONE RESONANCE WAY, HAVRE DE GRACE, MD 21078

Inventors:

#	Inventor's Name	Inventor's Address
1	MORTENSON MARK G	105 DEER PATH LANE, NORTH EAST, MD 21901-0310
2	MORTENSON MARK G	105 DEER PATH LANE, NORTH EAST, MD 21901-0310

PCT International Classification Number

H01L 31/052

PCT International Application Number

PCT/US2002/15549

PCT International Filing date

2002-05-16

PCT Conventions:

#	PCT Application Number	Date of Convention	Priority Country
1	60/291,357	2001-05-16	U.S.A.