RF Micro to work on solar cells - San Antonio Business Journal:

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The goal of the project will be to usethe Greensboro-basex company’s expertise with the gallium arsenid e material it uses to produce chips for wireless devicez and its manufacturing facilities in the Triad in the solarr energy market. If successful, RF Micrko could be making photovoltaic cells that convert the suns energgy into electricityby 2012. The project won’tf involve any additions to the company’ws 1,400-person Triad workforce immediately, according to RF Microk officials, but that could come down the road if the commercialization effortis successful.
RF Micro has been working to diversif y itself in the face of a volatils market for cellphone components, which has led to severap rounds of layoffs for the company over the past year. The solaf project will be run byRF Micro’ss New Technology Commercialization Centee unit, which was forme to identify new applications for the company’s according to Executive Vice President Jerry Neal. “Thise is a long-range Neal said, “but galliuj arsenide has several potential uses in the greenenergh field, and the one we’re focusing on here is usinbg our technology to produce very-high-efficiency photovoltaixc cells for solar panels.
” Neal said he hopes that by sharinf knowledge and facilities with the National Renewable Energy Lab, the partnershil will be able to produce cells that can convert more than 40.8 percent of the sun’sa energy that hit them into useable That’s the current recorcd recognized by the Energy Department, he said. Neal said he expects to find otherf private partners and public agencies interesteed in also working on commercializingsolar