English | 
Traditional Solar PV Design
Conventional photovoltaic (PV) technologies share the same fundamental concepts. A typical solar cell will contain one or more light-absorbing semiconductor absorbers arranged so that a charge-separating junction is formed. Sunlight passes through a glass coating, past the anti-reflective barrier and is absorbed by the semiconductor layer. The incoming energy is used to create positive and negative charges, which are sent to opposite contacts, leading to current flow in the circuit. As sunlight increases, more charges are created and more current flows. This, in combination with output voltage, determines the power produced by the solar cell.
Traditional PV designs are limited by three key factors. Photovoltaic cells that use abundant materials (Si) are expensive to manufacture (high efficiency but high cost). Less expensive PV (thin -film) is unable to achieve the higher efficiencies of Silicon PV (low cost but low efficiency). The third limiting factor is the use of rare and toxic materials in the design of many PV designs, preventing them from ever achieving terawatt (global) scale implementation.
Quantum NGD™
Quantum’s NGD™ technology avoids using a semiconductor absorber, significantly reducing production costs and eliminating reliance on expensive silicon components. The unique patent-pending NGD™ charge separation system provides broadband response (full spectrum of light) while avoiding the use of Gallium, Tellurium or Indium — elements that limit large-scale deployment of traditional PV.
Quantum’s scientific team has taken a radical new approach to the development of photovoltaic design. The NGD™ device has the potential to obtain higher efficiencies at a lower cost per kilowatt/hour than coal without using any rare elements.
Once realized, only Quantum’s NGD™ may have the correct combination of attributes to become the “holy grail” technology the solar industry needs to overcome fossil fuel dependencies.
