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Search results for: “semiconductors semiconductor silicon SiC”

  • Nexwafe: PV silicon breakthrough?

    Nexwafe: PV silicon breakthrough?

    Nexwafe is growing standalone silicon wafers on mono-crystalline seed wafers, with no need to slice ingots. It should improve solar efficiency, materials intensity and CO2 intensity. Our technology review found 60 patent filings and can partly de-risk growth ambitions.

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  • Electrical conductivity: energy transition materials?

    Electrical conductivity: energy transition materials?

    Electrical conductivity of energy transition materials is tabulated in this data-file. ‘The action’ takes place in the range of 10^-8 to 10^-3 Ohm-meters, including silver in solar cells, copper in renewables and EVs, aluminium transmission lines, batteries, and solar semiconductors.

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  • Sila: silicon anode battery breakthrough?

    Sila: silicon anode battery breakthrough?

    Sila Nanotechnologies claims to have made “the biggest battery breakthrough in 30-years”, integrating silicon with the anodes of lithium ion batteries. Overall, our patent review did support some further de-risking of silicon anode LIBs.

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  • Perovskite solar: beyond silicon?

    Perovskite solar: beyond silicon?

    Will the next chapter of solarโ€™s ascent come from perovskite-tandem cells, followed by perovskite-on-perovskites? This 18-page report finds more momentum than we expected. There is potential for 30% cost deflation, new solar applications (in buildings/vehicles), and a disruption of PV silicon?

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  • Hillcrest: ZVS inverter breakthrough?

    Hillcrest: ZVS inverter breakthrough?

    Hillcrest Energy Technologies is developing an ultra-efficient SiC inverter, which has 30-70% lower switching losses, up to 15% lower system cost, weight, size, and thus interesting applications in electric vehicles. How does it work and can we de-risk the technology?

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  • Silicon carbide: faster switching?

    Silicon carbide: faster switching?

    Silicon carbide power electronics will jolt the energy transition forwards, displacing silicon, and improving the efficiency of most new energies by 1-10 pp. Hence we wonder if this disruptor will surprise to the upside, quintupling by 2027. This 12-page note reviews the technology, advantages, challenges, and who benefits?

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  • Global polysilicon production capacity?

    Global polysilicon production capacity?

    Polysilicon is a highly pure, crystalline silicon material, used predominantly for photovoltaic solar, and also for ‘chips’ in the electronics industry. Global polysilicon capacity is estimated to reach 1.65MTpa in 2023, and global polysilicon production surpasses 1MTpa in 2023. China now dominates the industry, approaching 90% of all global capacity.

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  • Ideal Power: Bi-Directional Bipolar Junction Transistors?

    Ideal Power: Bi-Directional Bipolar Junction Transistors?

    Bi-Directional Bipolar Junction Transistors are an emerging category of semiconductor-based switching device, that can achieve lower on-state voltage drops than MOSFETs and softer, faster switching than IGBTs, to improve efficiency and lower component count in bi-directional power converters. This data-file screens B-TRAN patents from Ideal Power.

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  • DC-DC power converters: efficiency calculations?

    DC-DC power converters: efficiency calculations?

    DC-DC power converters are used to alter the voltage in DC circuits, such as in wind turbines, solar MPPT, batteries and digital/computing devices. This data-file is a breakdown of DC-DC power converters’ electrical efficiency, which will typically be around 95%. Losses are higher at low loads. We think there will be upside for increasingly high-quality…

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  • Overview of lasers: by type, market size and efficiency?

    Overview of lasers: by type, market size and efficiency?

    The global laser market is worth $20bn pa, of which half comprises diode lasers mainly used for fiber-optic communications and around 30% is fiber lasers mainly used for cutting, welding and heat-treating materials. These two laser types dominate because of their high, 30-80% efficiencies. This data-file is a brief overview of lasers.

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