Solar-Tectic LLC presents single crystal silicon nanowires on ordinary soda-lime glass. Prior art has had to do with nanowire growth on single crystalline substrates, whereas our technology is about growth of nanowires on non-single crystalline substrates which includes ordinary glass or metal tapes.

Through our patented “switching” technique, essentially moving from film growth to nanowire growth by lowering the growth temperature, we create more freedom to control the micro/nano structures of the growth to optimize the overall device structure, without breaking vacuum.

Theoretically, the limit for nanowire solar cells is as high 46 percent, much higher than that for single layer thin-film solar cells at 34 percent. In addition, nanowire cells are cheaper to produce by comparison.

For details see US Pat. No. 8,491,718.

Solar-Tectic has patent an ideal substrate for nanowire growth, namely a highly oriented (111) MgO film on ordinary soda-lime glass.  Such a highly oriented crystalline insulating film can align the nanowires for optimal performance.