Solar In Context


What made Apple’s iPod a winner was business context. There were plenty of other MP3 players on the market and Apple’s wasn’t particularly noteworthy from a technology standpoint. But rather than just sell another portable music machine, the company created something its competitors didn’t have—iTunes. In fact, it was iTunes that made the iPod, not the other way around. The same th... » read more

The Sun Is Bright. Use More Of It.


By Michael P.C. Watts The sun is bright and warm, there must be a way to use more of it to generate power. Last time the discussion focused on the opportunity for other semiconductor materials, and whether there was any realistic opportunity for new technologies given the state of the industry. This is the third of a series of blogs to try and answer this question. If you hate serials, the com... » read more

Alternatives to silicon for solar cells


Michael P.C. Watts Last time I started to talk about the solar cell business, and whether there was any realistic opportunity for new technologies given the state of the industry. This is the second of a series of blogs to try and answer this question. If you hate serials, the complete analysis is available on my web site www.impattern.com. Let’s start by looking at the potential for other... » read more

Solar Designs Focus On Low Power


By Pallab Chatterjee This year’s Semicon West showed growth in both attendees and exhibitors, but the big growth—at least from a percentage standpoint—was in the associated Intersolar show, which featured advances in PV and solar thermal systems. This year’s Intersolar show covered areas that were not just commercial grid-tied PV systems. Rather, it also had off-grid systems with ne... » read more

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