NovaSolix is developing the technology that will generate the cleanest and cheapest form of energy on Earth: rectifying antennas that convert light to electricity from the entire solar spectrum.
NANOSCALE Antennas
NovaSolix’s carbon nanotube (CNT) antennas are small enough to match the nano-scale wavelengths of sunlight. Antennas can convert electromagnetic spectrum much more efficiently than photovoltaic (PV) cells. When perfected, NovaSolix antennas will capture far more energy from the sun, and far more efficiently, achieving near 90% efficiency (versus ~20% for PV).
NANOSCALE DIODES
NovaSolix has successfully manufactured the world's fastest diode – a critical component for energy conversion.
NANOSCALE MANUFACTURING
From the beginning, NovaSolix engineers have developed our products so that they can be manufactured using roll-to-roll advanced manufacturing techniques. At scale, these techniques ensure that NovaSolix’s products will be the cheapest form of energy on Earth.
World's MOST EFFICIENT solar energy
Our solution, manufactured at scale, will enable solar energy to be produced at a cost per kWh less than fossil fuels.
How IS THIS POSSIBLE? A History of Exponentially Smaller Things:
Antennas, diodes, and manufacturing technology have achieved exponentially smaller scales over the decades. NovaSolix is taking advantage of recent nano-scale developments in all three of these areas to create a technology that was not possible until the last few years.
The NovaSolix Vision
How much better must a new technology be to be revolutionary? Archimedes crossed a magic line when he discovered why objects float. The Wright brothers crossed a magic line when they measured lift and drag. NovaSolix has invented a self assembling antenna array solar cell which will be 2-4 times more efficient at a less than 1/10 the cost per watt of existing solar.
NovaSolix is crossing a magic line. The energy revolution is beginning. Read more about our vision →
Supporting research
There have been a few universities that have done work similar to NovaSolix’s technology. Georgia Tech described a forest of carbon nanotube bundles connected to MoC diodes in “A carbon nanotube optical rectenna”, by Asha Sharma1,2†, Virendra Singh1†, Thomas L. Bougher1† and Baratunde A. Cola1,3*, published in Nature Nanotechnology Letters 9/28/15. Researchers from California Institute of Technology also described an asymmetric MoC diode in “Ultrafast metal-insulator-multi-wall carbon nanotube tunneling diode employing asymmetrical structure effect” by Jeong Hee Shin a, Jaehan Im a, Ji-Woong Choi a, Hyun Sik Kim b, Jung Inn Sohn c,Seung Nam Cha c, and Jae Eun Jang a, published in Carbon 102 (2016) 172e180. A third one, “Towards Rectennas for Solar Energy Harvesting”, by Naser Sedghi*, J. W. Zhang, J. F. Ralph, Y. Huang, I. Z. Mitrovic, and S. Hall, from the University of Liverpool, described constructing a patch antenna array interconnected with rather large MiiC diodes. While none of these efforts are particularly close to NovaSolix’s approach, they confirm the theoretical ability to get to over 80% conversion efficiency with full wave rectification compared to the Shockley-Queisser limit of 33.7% efficiency for traditional single silicon junction solar cells.
Novasolix Patent Summary, 1st Jan 2021
NovaSolix has 12 granted patents, and 4 pending applications, two in the US one in China and one in Taiwan. Nine are US patents and one each Chinese, German and Swedish. Patents fall in three families:
The Semi-reflective display family has four patents and a pending application. It covers the structures of both the display and a portable phone with no buttons. The patents 10,437,371; 10,042,453; 9,502,449 and 9,164,559 are all called “Low-power semi-reflective display”. The pending application 16/545,551 has been filed and is in the examination process.
The Solar antenna array family has 3 patents, and a PCT from which we filed the Chinese and EU patents. It primarily covers the structure of the rectenna array from the original V groove structure to the current interdigitized finger structure, all of which have some combination of CNT antennas and diodes formed from the tip of the CNT in contact with the metal line output. The patents and PCT are:
9,960,480 Solar antenna array and its fabrication;
9,917,225 Black body infrared antenna array;
9,917,217 Solar antenna array and its fabrication and uses;
And PCT/US16/29336 now WO 2016/178858 was granted in the EU as EP16789760.2, and are validated in Sweden as SE3289612 T3 and Germany as DE 60 2016 030 694.8.
Chinese patent number is ZL201680025443.3 with a follow-on application number 2015800712314 and TW Patent Appln. No. 105112826 are all continuations of 9,960,480
The Solar array Fabrication family has 2 patents an application and a PCT. It covers the structure of the complete solar cell, including a plastic cover and micro-inverter, but primarily covers methods of low cost mass manufacturing of full panels. The methods include laser trimming defects and multiple single layer self aligned maskless lithography on a glass substrate that forms the top surface of the solar cell.
Patents: 10,622,503 & 10,580,920 Solar antenna array fabrication
App: 15/682,646 is also called “SOLAR ANTENNA ARRAY FABRICATION”
And the PCT, PCT/US17/26130 is now WO/2017/184339