LOWELL, MA /BUSINESS WIRE/ -- Konarka Technologies Inc., an innovator in the development and commercialization of Power Plastic, a material that converts light to energy, announced the company successfully conducted the first demonstration of manufacturing solar cells by highly efficient inkjet printing. The company discusses and analyzes the performance of highly efficient inkjet-printed organic bulk heterojunction solar cells in a paper recently published in Advanced Materials, titled "High Photovoltaic Performance of Inkjet Printed Polymer:Fullerene Blends," by Dr. Stelios A. Choulis, Claudia N. Hoth, Dr. Pavel Schilinsky, and Dr. Christoph J. Brabec, all of Konarka.
"Demonstrating the use of inkjet-printing technology as a fabrication tool for highly efficient solar cells and sensors with small area requirements is a major milestone," commented Rick Hess, President and CEO at Konarka. "This essential breakthrough in the field of printed solar cells positions Konarka as an emerging leader in printed photovoltaics."
Inkjet printing is a commonly used technique for controlled deposition of solutions of functional materials in specific locations on a substrate and can provide easy and fast deposition of polymer films over a large area. The demonstration confirms that organic solar cells can be processed with printing technologies with little or no loss compared with clean-room semiconductor technologies, such as spin coating. The most popular printing tool for organic electronics, inkjet printing could become a smart tool to manufacturer solar cells with multiple colors and patterns for lower power requirement products, such as indoor or sensor applications. Inkjet printing is considered promising because the polymer devices can be fabricated easily because of the compatibility with various substrates and it does not require additional patterning.
About Konarka
Konarka Technologies Inc. builds products that convert light to energy—anywhere. As a leading developer of polymer photovoltaic technology that provides a source of renewable power in a variety of form factors for commercial, industrial, government, and consumer applications, Konarka has a broad portfolio of patents, technology licenses, and an accomplished technical team. The company's Power Plastic technology is focused on delivering lightweight, flexible, scalable, and manufacturable products. Konarka Technologies is headquartered in Lowell, MA, with European headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, business development offices in Asia, and a research and development facility in Austria.