Mitsubishi partners develop photovoltaic module

The Mitsubishi Corporation has joined forces with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, as well as the Tokki Corporation, to develop a new Organic Photovoltaics (OPV) module.

The OPVs work in a similar manner to silicone PVs in that they employ a P-N diode junction as a generating active layer. In the new module however, fullerone is used as an n-type of semiconductor and Phthalocyanine as a p-type.

The new module relies on laser-scribing technology on a glass substrate with organic semiconductor materials that are deposited on to the substrate and then divided into several cells with the laser. This technology eliminates the need for deposition mask patterning which is used in most conventional methods.

Many companies have focused on increasing the low power output of PVs and indeed in January 2005, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology itself achieved a 4.0 per cent light exchange efficiency - which was the highest efficiency rate that had been achieved at that time.

The OPVs, which had previously struggled to efficiently convert sunlight, are a well-known type of third generation photovoltaics which use organic materials to make light, thin and colourful film PV modules. It is hoped that the work from the three companies can now solve this problem and make OPVs more effective.