BINGHAMPTON UNIVERSITY TO DEVELOP A FOCUSED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE ON LARGE AREA FLEXIBLE SOLAR CELL MODULES: WE AIM TO DEVELOP REVOLUTIONARY GREEN TECHNOLOGIES THAT GREATLY REDUCE THE MASS AND COST OF PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS WHILE AT THE SAME TIME PUSHING THE LIMITS OF POWER CONVERSION EFFICIENCIES BY UTILIZING SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS THAT ENHANCE SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM PERFORMANCE. SPECIFICALLY WE SEEK TO DEVELOP INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGIES THAT HAVE POWER CONVERSION EFFICIENCIES AROUND 20% IN A FORM FACTOR AMENABLE TO LOW COST PRODUCTION ON FLEXIBLE SUBSTRATES. TO MEET THIS CHALLENGE, WE WILL CONDUCT ADVANCED RESEARCH ON NOVEL SOLAR MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS BY DEVELOPING LOW COST TECHNIQUES TO CONTROL MATERIALS PROPERTIES AT THE ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR LEVEL. WE WILL CONCENTRATE ON NANOSTRUCTURED INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAIC AND THERMOELECTRIC SYSTEMS THAT WOULD UTILIZE VISIBLE AS WELL AS INFRARED SOLAR RADIATION TO COGENERATE ELECTRICITY WITH VERY HIGH EFFICIENCIES. MORE SPECIFICALLY, WE WILL CONDUCT RESEARCH IN THREE THRUST AREAS, (I) NANOSTRUCTURED PHOTOVOLTAIC AND THERMOELECTRIC INTEGRATED SOLAR MODULES, (II) SOLAR MODULE INTEGRATED ELECTRICAL ENERGY STORAGE DEVICES AND (III) INTEGRATED AUTONOMOUS SOLAR POWER SYSTEM WITH LARGE AREA ROLL-TO-ROLL PROCESSING. THIS RESEARCH WILL RESULT IN THE REALIZATION OF NEXT GENERATION ULTRA LIGHTWEIGHT FLEXIBLE AND HIGHLY COMPETITIVE AUTONOMOUS SOLAR POWER SYSTEMS WITH INTEGRATED ENERGY STORAGE THAT COULD REVOLUTIONIZE THE FACE OF SOLAR POWER. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM NOT ONLY OFFERS NASA TO IMPROVE THEIR SPACE-BASED ENERGY SYSTEMS FOR HUMAN AND ROBOTIC SPACECRAFT MISSIONS, BUT ALSO PROVIDE THE PROSPECT OF HIGHLY COMPETITIVE UBIQUITOUS SOLAR POWER FOR TERRESTRIAL USE.

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BINGHAMPTON UNIVERSITY TO DEVELOP A FOCUSED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE ON LARGE AREA FLEXIBLE SOLAR CELL MODULES: WE AIM TO DEVELOP REVOLUTIONARY GREEN TECHNOLOGIES THAT GREATLY REDUCE THE MASS AND COST OF PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS WHILE AT THE SAME TIME PUSHING THE LIMITS OF POWER CONVERSION EFFICIENCIES BY UTILIZING SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS THAT ENHANCE SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM PERFORMANCE. SPECIFICALLY WE SEEK TO DEVELOP INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGIES THAT HAVE POWER CONVERSION EFFICIENCIES AROUND 20% IN A FORM FACTOR AMENABLE TO LOW COST PRODUCTION ON FLEXIBLE SUBSTRATES. TO MEET THIS CHALLENGE, WE WILL CONDUCT ADVANCED RESEARCH ON NOVEL SOLAR MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS BY DEVELOPING LOW COST TECHNIQUES TO CONTROL MATERIALS PROPERTIES AT THE ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR LEVEL. WE WILL CONCENTRATE ON NANOSTRUCTURED INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAIC AND THERMOELECTRIC SYSTEMS THAT WOULD UTILIZE VISIBLE AS WELL AS INFRARED SOLAR RADIATION TO COGENERATE ELECTRICITY WITH VERY HIGH EFFICIENCIES. MORE SPECIFICALLY, WE WILL CONDUCT RESEARCH IN THREE THRUST AREAS, (I) NANOSTRUCTURED PHOTOVOLTAIC AND THERMOELECTRIC INTEGRATED SOLAR MODULES, (II) SOLAR MODULE INTEGRATED ELECTRICAL ENERGY STORAGE DEVICES AND (III) INTEGRATED AUTONOMOUS SOLAR POWER SYSTEM WITH LARGE AREA ROLL-TO-ROLL PROCESSING. THIS RESEARCH WILL RESULT IN THE REALIZATION OF NEXT GENERATION ULTRA LIGHTWEIGHT FLEXIBLE AND HIGHLY COMPETITIVE AUTONOMOUS SOLAR POWER SYSTEMS WITH INTEGRATED ENERGY STORAGE THAT COULD REVOLUTIONIZE THE FACE OF SOLAR POWER. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM NOT ONLY OFFERS NASA TO IMPROVE THEIR SPACE-BASED ENERGY SYSTEMS FOR HUMAN AND ROBOTIC SPACECRAFT MISSIONS, BUT ALSO PROVIDE THE PROSPECT OF HIGHLY COMPETITIVE UBIQUITOUS SOLAR POWER FOR TERRESTRIAL USE.

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