• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Spire to Develop Advanced Thermophotovoltaic Cells; TPV Cells Produce Electricity From Heat

Posted on: Monday, 13 February 2006, 09:01 CST

Spire Corporation (Nasdaq: SPIR) today announced that has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to develop a new type of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) power cell that produces electricity from heat. The cells are similar to solar cells that convert visible photons to electricity, but the semiconductor material is adjusted to convert long-wavelength or thermal photons to electricity. The grant is from NASA's John Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

The project has potential applications for NASA, to generate electricity from heat generated by long-life radioisotope sources for long duration space missions where the power generated by conventional solar cells is limited due to the large distance from the sun. Commercial applications of TPV cells include electricity co-generation using heat from wood or propane combustion.

Bandwidth Semiconductor LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Spire, will develop indium-gallium-arsenide-based thermophotovoltaic cells optimized for both high temperature operation as well as for radiation hardness. Bandwidth Semiconductor, a compound semiconductor foundry specializing in wafer epitaxy and device processing, is a leader in the field of thermophotovoltaics. Bandwidth Semiconductor has over ten years experience providing TPV cells to government customers for special applications.

Roger Little, Chairman and CEO of Spire, said, "With this grant, we will leverage our expertise in solar cells, compound semiconductor epitaxy and device processing to grow nanostructures that can efficiently convert heat to electricity for energy generation both on earth and in space."

About Spire Corporation

Spire Corporation is a diversified technology company providing innovative solar energy manufacturing equipment, biomedical devices and optoelectronic components, all based upon a common technology platform. For more information visit www.spirecorp.com.

Certain matters described in this news release may be forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk of dependence on market growth, competition and dependence on government agencies and other third parties for funding contract research and services, as well as other factors described in the Company's Form 10-KSB filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source: Business Wire

More News in this Category