Alvin M. MARKS
Lepcon / Lumeloid
Alvin M. Marks
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Renewable-Energy/1984-11-01/Energy-Flashes.aspx
A SOLAR POWER CONVERTER THAT MAY CUT THE COST OF SUNLIGHT-SPAWNED HOME ELECTRICITY BY AS MUCH AS 90% has been patented by Alvin M. Marks. The device, called the Lepcon, uses submicron antennas on a glass plate to convert sunlight into high-frequency alternating current, which is then changed by a miniature circuit to direct current. The inventor estimates the cost of electricity from the Lepcon at about 500 per watt, as compared to the $5.00 per watt typical of conventional silicon-crystal photovoltaic equipment. Mr. Marks also claims a 75% efficiency rate for his invention (versus a theoretical 20%, and a thus-far-achieved 8% to 10% rate, for standard solar cells). If mass-produced, a 100-square-foot Lepcon roof panel would cost about $1,500 and generate sufficient power for a small household. A photovoltaic array producing the same output would cost approximately $75,000. (The catch, of course, is that the Lepcon is not yet commercially available, and may not be for quite some time.)
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=technology&res=9A0DE3DE1E3DF93AA3575AC0A960948260
NEW PLASTIC SOLAR DESIGN PROMISES EFFICIENT POWER
By
SCOTT BRONSTEIN
( Published: September 9, 1986 )
In a quiet research laboratory here, an inventor is developing solar power devices designed to operate four or five times more efficiently than the best photovoltaic cells now in use, and at a small fraction of the cost.
Alvin M. Marks, an inventor who holds patents for a 3-D movie process and polarized film for sunglasses, is working with the Westinghouse Electric Corporation to build prototypes of the solar power devices. He received one patent for the devices earlier this year and another in 1984.
The Exxon Corporation recently offered $9 million for Mr. Marks's patents, and for Phototherm, the small company that controls them, according to Gerard J. Aitken 3d, chairman of Phototherm's board. But company officials chose not to sell; instead they signed the development contract with Westinghouse, which says it is particularly interested in the technology's applications for Strategic Defense Initiative, or Star Wars.
Mr. Marks says solar panels made with Lepcon or Lumeloid, the materials he patented, could turn 70 to 80 percent of the energy from sunlight they receive into electricity. Most photovoltaic cells are only about 15 percent efficient. The electricity would cost three or four cents per kilowatt hour, as against about 10 cents a kilowatt hour for commercially generated electric power. Most photovoltaic cells produce energy for around $1 per kilowatt hour.
Typical photovoltaic cells use layers of chemically treated metals that produce electric current when struck by sunlight. The basic problem has always been the quantity of current produced per unit cost of the materials used to produce it.
Lepcon, which was a preliminary design, consists of glass panels covered with a vast array of millions of aluminum or copper strips, each less than a micron or thousandth of a millimeter wide. As sunlight hits the metal strips, the energy in the light is transferred to electrons in the metal, which escape at one end in the form of electricity.
Lumeloid uses a similar approach, but substitutes cheaper, filmlike sheets of plastic for the glass panels and covers the plastic with conductive polymers, long chains of molecular plastic units. Lumeloid is easier to manufacture and handle than Lepcon. The company declines, for competitive reasons, to identify the chemicals it uses to produce Lumeloid polymers.
There are as yet no large-scale working prototypes of Mr. Mark's invention, and some scientists have expressed caution in assessing it. ''It is beyond our technological fabrication capability at present,'' said Dr. Edward D. Wolf, the director of the national research facility for submicron structures at Cornell University, who has studied Mr. Marks's work. ''But it's an interesting concept.''
Professor Stuart A. Rice, dean of the division of physical sciences at the University of Chicago, has also reviewed the patents.
''It is an intellectually challenging idea,'' he said. ''I do not know whether it can be brought into practice, so I don't know whether to be optimistic or pessimistic. If it turned out to work, and was very efficient, it would be very significant.''
Mr. Marks said he believed Lumeloid would be available for commercial use within two or three years. He added that Lepcon and Lumeloid could be used to create lasers, an application he said he had discussed with the Pentagon, in conjunction with Westinghouse.
Mr. Marks conceded that getting his ideas to the major prototype stage would cost around $5 million. Commercial production of solar panels would cost between $30 million to $50 million, he estimated, and the preliminary work, supported by Westinghouse, is now underway, he said.
Phototherm plans a $15 million initial public stock offering soon to help subsidize development of the solar patents.
Mr. Marks has more than 100 other patents, including the film used on polarized sunglasses, and the process to make 3-D movies, and he was also an energy adviser to President John F. Kennedy.
http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Marks_Alvin_11432614.aspx
http://www.ardev.com
(9/19/2000)
Lumeloid film resulted from many years of dedication by Inventor Dr. Alvin M. Marks and over 25 researchers at Advanced Research Development Inc. (ARDI). ARDI has demonstrated Lumeloid's potential. Lumeloid could reach the market in the year 2001, making a major breakthrough in the $1 billion solar-electricity industry in direct competition with the trillion-dollar fossil fuel industry.
Success of Lumeloid would also be a first step toward a sustainable energy economy, replacing fossil-fuel energy generation on a massive scale. Governments and markets are already reacting to the global warming threat by expanding renewable energy programs. The productivity losses from fossil fuel pollution are taking on increasing toll.
Many Lumeloid refinements patented by Dr. Marks are part of his work in fields related to Lumeloid's underlying polarized film technology including more than 120 patents. In addition to a long and distinguished business and academic career, he served on President Kennedy's Committee on New Power Technologies and has received multiple honoraria and doctoral degrees.
Lumeloid, classified as a polymeric photovoltaic device, is constructed from very inexpensive, non-toxic polymer materials and will be manufactured by processes in large production. Finished Lumeloid product will comprise a thin film about 0.3 microns thick on a low cost plastic roll. We project installed Lumeloid cost at 20% that of conventional PV and lower than natural gas and coal, or about 75 cents per watt.
Lumeloid does not use semiconductor principles to generate electricity, but exploits the same techniques radio antennae use to absorb radio waves; except that Lumeloid absorbs nano-scale visible light waves, in a process which in part mimics photosynthesis. The linear light polarizing molecules in the film act as the antennae to absorb the energy of a resolved component of photons incident on the film.
Dr. Marks and his team recently reached important R&D milestones, identifying the formulation and process that may soon yield commercial grade film and process procedures. If these preliminary results bear out, a commercial prototype could be produced in nine months, which will demonstrate economic viability. As soon as this is achieved, commercial investments and partners will propel Lumeloid into the marketplace. This work is dependent on financial support for research and development.
Approximately $1.5M U.S. Government funds and many millions of dollars from private funds have supported this work. The progress to date is the result of enormous time contributions of Dr. Marks and many others including about 25 researchers in the best academic and private institutions. Government funding has recently diminished with the cutbacks in funding for renewable energy.
Within 12 months we predict demonstrated 10% efficiency at projected $4.00 per installed watt depending on adequate funding for research. After this demonstration publicly raised money will propel Lumeloid into the market place. The small privately held corporation Advanced Research and Development, Inc. (ARDI) was formed in 1982 to further Lumeloid research. The research requires an additional $1 million for the next nine months of research and development.
Dr. Marks and his team are dedicated to growing this technology into a worldwide resource for clean energy. We are motivated by the enormous business opportunities, but more so by the benefit to the global environment and to all people and life on earth.
Introduction
Lumeloid Solar Film is a new solar energy technology with the potential to provide very low cost, efficient, nonpolluting solar electric power.
Inventor Dr. Alvin M. Marks and a network of over 25 researchers have achieved demonstrable successes in proving Lumeloid's practical potential. Lumeloid could reach market by 2001. Success will be a major breakthrough toward a sustainable energy economy, replacing fossil-fuel energy generation on a massive scale.
Lumeloid is classified as a polymeric light polarizing photovoltaic device. It comprises a photovoltaic polarized film on a Mylar substrate with microelectronic circuitry. Lumeloid has a theoretical sunlight to electricity conversion efficiency of 72% (as compared to 33% for current semiconductor solar cell technology.) Very low manufacturing costs for Lumeloid along with its high efficiency create the potential for a many fold decrease in the cost of solar electricity.
Dr. Marks and his team are dedicated to growing this technology into a worldwide resource for clean energy. We are motivated by the enormous business opportunities, but more so by the benefit to all the people and their global environment.
Renewable Energy - Cornerstone of the Sustainable Economy
The world's leaders met at Rio de Janero, Kyoto and Buenos Aires to find ways to avoid the catastrophic effects of global warming - the warming of the Earth's atmosphere from heat trapped by atmospheric carbon dioxide emitted from human activities, primarily burning fossil-fuels. Already detectable increases in global air and ocean temperatures have been measured.
The LEPCON Femto Diode concept is similar in principle to Lumeloid, and was also invented by Alvin Marks. In contrast to Lumeloid, however, LEPCON comprises more durable materials of submicron metal on a glass substrate sheet. LEPCON designs have been used as a test bed for Lumeloid concepts, and may also yield product breakthroughs of its own.
Lumeloid R&D
Dr. Alvin M. Marks is the inventor of Lumeloid and holds the 1984 patenton the original configuration and multiple patents on refinements. After many years of work, light to electric power conversion by a Lumeloid film was demonstrated in our laboratory on April 5, 1996. Although the conversion efficiency was very low, we achieved proof of concept, and we now understand the mechanisms that are increasing measured efficiencies toward the expected levels.
Dr. Marks holds over 120 patents dating back to the original polarized film patents in the 1930's. His distinguished career includes the start up of highly successful companies in the polarized film industry, a seat on President Kennedy's Science Power Advisory panel, honoraria, a doctoral degree and many published articles and broadcast media appearances.
In 1982 he turned his attention to solar energy technology at the urging of United Nations Energy Director Dr, Ishrat Usmani. Dr. Usmani's solar project in Africa had recently been cancelled because of the high cost and low efficiency of photovoltaics. At a dinner meeting the delegate turned to Dr. Marks and urged him to develop cost-effective solar technology. Dr. Marks' unique experience in the related fields of polarized film development and manufacturing, radio antenna theory, physical optics, quantum mechanics, chemistry and business led him to the invention of Lumeloid.
For many years, ARDI has been funded by the U.S. Government and private funds. Approximately $16M has been gone into Lumeloid R&D to date.
To test the concepts of Lumeloid and LEPCON, ARDI received US Government funding to work with Texas A&M and Cornell Universities. The direct conversion of light energy to electric energy based on Dr. Marks patent was first demonstrated at Texas A&M University and favorably reported in the Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 80 (1) 1 July 1996
Dr. Marks has many years of experience at the forefront of this field. As partner in creation of Marks Polarized Corporation he led the field for many years. It will take little original research or technological development to produce Lumeloid once a working configuration is demonstrated.
Organization and People Behind Lumeloid
Lumeloid research is now conducted at Advanced Research & Development, Inc. (ARDI) a small research corporation owned and operated by Dr. Marks. ARDI was founded in 1982 in Athol, Massachusetts and now occupies an entire floor.
The testing and fabrication equipment are state of the art and provide a strong foundation for the Lumeloid research. To support its position at the cutting edge of conducting polarized film development, ARDI maintains extensive laboratory facilities dedicated to the production and characterization of conducting polarized films and fabrication techniques. The effectiveness of the facilities is evidenced by the successful R&D performed to date.
Dr. Alvin Marks
Senior Scientist and President of ARDI Alvin Marks will serve as Principal Investigator for the research and development of his patented invention Lumeloid. He is a theoretical physicist and mathematician who has been engaged in the research, development, and commercialization of polarized technologies for the past 50 years. He holds 121 U.S. patents, with more than 50 patents in polarizing materials. His research on photosynthetic chemistry and polarized films demonstrates that the Lumeloid concept is unique and may advance photovoltaic effici
http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/new/nsolcel.htm
New Solar Electric Cells - 80% efficient
New Plastic Solar Design Promises Efficient Power. Plastic solar panels Could be ready for commercial use in two to three years.
by
Scott Bronstein
ATHOL, Mass. -- In a quiet research laboratory here, an Inventor is developing solar power devices designed to operate four or five times more efficiently than the beat photovoltaic cells now in use, and at a small fraction of the cost.
Alvin M. Marks, an inventor who, holds patents for a 3-D movie process and polarized film for sunglasses, is working with the Westinghouse Electric Corporation to build prototypes of the solar power devices. He received one patent for the devices earlier this year and another in 1984.
The Exxon Corporation recently offered $9 million for Mr. Marks's patents, and for Phototherm, the small company that controls them. according to Gerard J. Aitken 3rd, chairman of Phototherm's board. But company officials chose not to sell; instead they signed the development contract with Westinghouse, which says it is particularly interested in the technology's applications for Strategic Defense Initiative, or Star Wars.
Mr. Marks says solar panels made with Lepcon or Lumeloid, the materials he patented, could turn 70 to 80 percent of the energy from sunlight they receive into electricity. Most photovoltaic cells are only about 15 percent efficient. The electricity would cost three or four cents per kilowatt hour, as against about 10 cents a kilowatt hour for commercially generated electric power. Most photovoltaic cells produce energy for around $1 per kilowatt hour.
Typical photovoltaic cells use layers of chemically treated metals that produce electric current when struck by sunlight. The basic problem has always been the quantity of current produced per unit cost of the materials used to produce it.
Lepcon, which was a preliminary design, consists of glass panels covered with a vast array of millions of aluminum or copper strips, each less than a micron or thousandth of a millimeter wide. As sunlight hits the metal strips, the energy in the light is transferred to electrons in the metal. which escape at one end in the form of electricity.
Lumeloid uses a similar approach. but substitutes cheaper, filmlike sheets of plastic for the glass panels and covers the plastic with conductive polymers, long chains of molecular plastic units. Lumeloid is easier to manufacture and handle than Lepcon. The company declines, for competitive reasons, to identify the chemicals it uses to produce Lumeloid polymers.
There are as yet no large-scale working prototypes of Mr. Mark's invention, and some scientists have expressed caution in assessing it. "It is beyond our technological fabrication capability at present," said Dr. Edward D. Wolf, the director of the national research facility for submicron structures at Cornell University, who has studied Mr Marks's work."But it's an interesting concept."
Professor Stuart A Rice, dean of the division of physical sciences at the University of Chicago, has also reviewed the patents.
"It is an intellectually challenging idea," he said, "I do not know whether it can be brought into practice, so I don't know whether to be optimistic or pessimistic. If it turned out to work, and was very efficient, it would he very significant."
Mr Marks said he believed Lumeloid would be available for commercial use within two or three years. He added that Lepcon and Lumeloid could be used to create lasers, an application he said he had discussed with the Pentagon in conjunction with Westinghouse.
Mr Marks conceded that getting his ideas to the major prototype stage would cost around $5 million. Commercial production of solar panels would cost between $30 million to $5O million, he estimated, and the preliminary work, supported by Westinghouse, is now underway, he said.
Phototherm plans a $15 million initial public stock offering soon to help subsidize development of the solar patents.
Mr Marks has more than 100 other patents, Including the film used on polarized sunglasses, and the process to make 3D movies, and he was also an energy adviser to president John F. Kennedy.
More information can be obtained from patents; 4,574,161 & 4,720,642.
http://www.groupsrv.com/science/post-2863233.html
Dr. Alvin Marks receives patents for two solar power technologies: Lepcon and Lumeloid. Lepcon consists of glass panels covered with millions of aluminum or copper strips, each less than a thousandth of a millimeter wide. As sunlight hits the metal strips, light energy is transferred to electrons in the metal, which escape at one end in the form of electricity. Lumeloid is similar but substitutes cheaper, film-like sheets of plastic for the glass panels and covers the plastic with conductive polymers
http://members.tripod.com/~gmager/solar2.html
http://KeelyNet.com
SOLAR2.ASC --- by Chuck Henderson.
The following is the information that I received in responce to my telephone query of Phototherm requesting additional information on their new solar cell technology. ....Chuck Henderson.
ADVANCED RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT, INC.
359R Main Street Athol, MA 01331
TEL.: (508) 249-4696
FAX: (508) 249-2134
February 19,1992 --- This information package is about an invention by Alvin M. Marks to convert sunlight to electric power. A few years of Research and Development are required to bring the thin film photovoltaic called Lumeloid (tm) into production. Alvin M. Marks was on President Kennedy's Power Panel and owns 120 patents. He invented Polarized film materials, 3D movie technology and co-founded Marks Polarized Corporation. He received many U.S. Government contracts for alternative energy until the early 1980's. Studying the initial phase used in the process of photosynthesis, Alvin Marks employed his knowledge of polarizing film materials to design aligned molecular antennae and molecular diodes to convert sunlight directly to electric power.
Lumeloid's (tm) projected efficiency is 80%, (many times that of conventional silicon photovoltaics) with an investment cost only a fraction of existing electric power sources. Project Lumeloid's (tm) success will revolutionize the electric power industry with low cost efficient benign technology. Phototherm, Inc., a Public Company, OTC, holds license rights to Alvin Marks' light to electric power conversion patents. Advanced Research Development, Inc. is privately owned and has an exclusive R&D agreement with Phototherm, Inc.
Project Lumeloid (tm) is partly funded by the Electric Power Research Institute with Lowell University preparing special materials for Marks' electrically-conducting polarized film. More funds are necessary to expedite Research and Development. Your support will help bring Lumeloid (tm) into Production and enable your participation in a technology beneficial to all.
Sincerely, Jonathan Haber Program Director
TAIPAN ( November 1990 )
SOLAR BREAKTHROUGH --- MASSACHUSETTS ENTREPRENEUR POINTS WAY TO PROFITS FROM ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN TECHNOLOGY
In just two and a half hours enough radiant energy from the sun falls onto the earth to supply all the energy (from all sources) consumed by human civilization in an entire year. The light that falls on a few hundred square kilometers in the Southwestern desert of the United States is enough to power all of North America. The problem, however, has always been how to harness it. The rap against conventional photovoltaic cells (which convert light into electricity) has always been their cost. Conventional silicon- based solar cells convert sunlight to electricity at an average cost above US$0.30 per kilowatt hour (kwh). That is three to five times what an average U.S. household pays for power from the local utility company. It is precisely this cost disadvantage that has limited most solar applications to small-scale operations in remote areas far from commercial power mains.
Massachusetts Miracle
That is, until now. A 78-year old Massachusetts inventor, Dr. Alvin Marks, has come up with a new kind of solar cell that promises to produce electricity for less than US$0.02 per kwh. If this is true, development of this technology could potentially revolutionize the commercial power generation industry. After all, conventional power plants are like prisons. But nobody wants one built in their neighborhood. On the other hand, a solar plant produces no radiation, smoke, or acid rain. Moreover, its best location would be somewhere in a desert -- where nobody lives anyway. Marks' cost breakthrough was achieved by radical new design that dramatically increases the efficiency of solar conversion. While conventional cells are able to capture and convert only 10% to 25% of the sun's energy, Marks' new designs may capture as much as 80%.
Dinner With Alvin
The genesis of this breakthrough was a dinner conversation that took place seven years ago between Marks and the then Director of the Third World Energy Division of the United Nations, Dr. Usmani. After complaining about a photovoltaic test project in Africa that had to be abandoned because it was too expensive and inefficient, Usmani turned to Marks and said something to the effect of `You're an inventor, can't you invent a better photovoltaic cell.' Few people would be better equipped to accept such a challenge. Marks patented his first invention in January 1938. His early work lead to what the May 1935 issue of "SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN" termed a 1,000 to 1 cost reduction in the fabrication of materials to polarize light.
Polaroid Precursor
This cost breakthrough was instrumental in the subsequent development of polarized sunglasses and Polaroid film. (In fact, Marks was an early rival of Dr. Edwin Land, developer of the Land Camera and founder of the Polaroid Corp.) In the early 1960s, Marks was science advisor to the Kennedy White House. Today, he holds a total of 120 patents -- a number of which have application to solar power generation. Marks new solar designs -- dubbed LEPCON (Light to Electric Power Converter) and LUMELOID -- are built on an extention of systems commonly used to receive microwave transmissions. (On the spectrum of electromagnetic energy, the difference between microwaves and visible light is merely that the latter have a higher frequency and a shorter wavelength.) Microwaves -- like other radio frequency transmissions -- are best received using an antenna tuned to the wavelength of the incoming signal. (When an electromagnetic wave strikes an electrically conductive material, it induces an alternating current of the same frequency of the incoming wave.) In real-world microwave applications, the efficiency of this connversion approaches 80%. LEPCON consists of millions of microscopic antennas (tuned to the wavelengths of the visible spectrum) embedded in a glass substrate. (LUMELOID use less expensive plastic materials.)
A Thousand Points Of Light
With microwaves (as well as with radar and radio), however, the same tuned antenna will work as well for transmitting a signal as it does for receiving it. Operate LEPCON in reverse and it becomes a light source. Marks calls this reverse application ELCON (Electricity to Light Converter). ELCON elements in a group become a point of light, or a pixel. Page 3 The same technology used to pack millions of submicron antenna elements in a glass or plastic substrate could be used to produce a new kind of high-definition TV (HDTV) screen with much higher resolution than present technology will allow. Conventional U.S. TV uses 525 scanning lines of pixels per screen. The most ambitious HDTV schemes yet proposed would use something on the order of 1,250 lines per screen. Using ELCON technology, screens using millions of lines may be possible -- for an 80,000% increase in resolution.
Phototherm, Inc.
Virtually all these ideas and devices have been patented by Marks. But lack of funds for the development of commercial prototypes has been a serious and continuing obstacle. To get LUMELOID off the ground, Marks formed a public company. Phototherm Inc. (OTC-pink sheets). However, it is still some distance away from a commercial product. Marks estimates an additional US$300,000 - US$500,000 will be necessary to get LUMELOID to the prototype stage. While North American interest in solar power has been sliding along with oil prices since the late 1970s, that has not been the case elsewhere. Last year, Marks made a deal with a Chinese company, China Petroleum Engineering Construction Corporation, to develop the LUMELOID prototype. Phototherm Bahamas Ltd. has been established to facilitate this endeavor and Chinese citizens will come to the Bahamas to learn the process.
Genius And Fortune
Because of the enormous breadth and depth of Marks' work, the "TAIPAN" research department believes no 20th century entrepreneur or inventor is destined to have greater positive effects on the daily lives of millions of people. However, revolutionary ideas are not any guarantee of quick commercial success. Because so much work remains before any of these ventures are likely to reach the stage of a profit-making enterprise, we suspect that attractive returns on Phototherm shares may be distant enough to try the patience of all but the most tenacious investors. However, if war in the Persian Gulf leads to destruction of the Saudi oil fields, we think promising technologies such as LEPCON and LUMELOID would suddenly become clear leaders on the fast track to commercial development. In the meantime, however, investors and entrepreneurs in search of more information should contact Dr. Alvin Marks, c/o Advanced Research Development, Inc.,359 R Main St., Athol, MA USA 01331; (508)249-4696; fax (508)249-2134.
GREEN LIVING ( Winter 1991/92 )
INVESTING FOR A CLEANER EARTH AND BIG PAYOFF
By
Marshall Glickman
Would you pay 25 cents for a share of a solar technology for which Exxon offered $9 million? That's the current price of Phototherm Inc., an Athol, Massachusetts, solar technology company which is developing a new ultra-efficient process of harnessing the sun's power. The founder and brains behind Phototherm is Dr. Alvin M. Marks, an octogenarian inventor and entrepreneur whose resume reads like an award ceremony. Dr. Marks is the holder of 120 patents, has degrees from Cooper Union Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and M.I.T., and has served as a scientific advisor to the Kennedy Adminstration. His work on polarizing film built Marks Polarized Corp. into a multimillion dollar business.
Eight years ago Dr. Marks turned his full attention to improving the efficiency of solar (photovoltaic) electricity. His work lead to a patent (the one for which Exxon offered $9 million, according to a 1986 "NEW YORK TIMES" report) that claims to convert sunlight to energy at 80% efficiency -- a cost of one to two cents per kilowatt hour. That's less than a fifth of the present cost of energy from fossil fuels and about one twentieth the cost of current photovoltaic systems (which are lucky to achieve 15 percent efficiency). The cost breakthrough is so incredible, that some skeptics immediately dismiss Dr. Marks. But Dr. Marks has made dramatic -- almost unbelievable -- improvements in light technology before. The May 1935 issue of "SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN" noted Marks created a 1,000-to-1 cost reduction in the fabrication of materials to polarize light. His work with Phototherm has also impressed the Electric Power Research Institute, the electric industry's research thinktank. The EPRI recently backed Phototherm with $100,000 and has plans to add another $100,000 soon. Before you mortgage the house and whip out the checkbook, keep in mind that Phototherm is a highly risky investment. And I emphasize the word highly. Even though Dr. Marks is supremely confident his technologies will work, it has never been tested in commercial production. Dr. Marks is also eighty-one years old. Even if his patented design is indeed revolutionary technology, until Phototherm has enough money to hire a team of highly qualified research assistants, it may be difficult to carry on his work should he become ill (his health is excellent). Interest generated from a recent "BUSINESS WEEK" story on Phototherm may help get the company adequately financed, but until the cash comes through Dr. Marks must concentrate on raising money instead of science and building prototypes. Consider investing in Phototherm as you would give money to environmental groups -- with the kicker that if it does work out you'll get back a lot more than just clean air. Phototherm is listed on the OTC pink sheets. If you'd like more information about Phototherm, contact program director Jonathan Haber at 359R Main Street; Athol, MA 01331; (508)249-4696.
THE BOSTON GLOBE ( February 29, 1988 )
ADVANCES BRING SOLAR POWER CLOSER
Researchers Say Solar Will Take Off In Mid-90s, While Athol Scientist Claims A Breakthrough
By
David L. Chandler
It's not that there's a shortage of energy. In just two and a half hours, enough sunlight falls on the Earth to supply all of mankind's energy needs -- heat, light, cooking, transportation, industry and every other energy-using activity -- for a full year. It's there, the hard part is catching it. Finding a practical and economical way to harness all that free, ubiquitous energy has challenged scientists and engineers since the energy crisis of the early 1970s awakened interest in alternative power sources. No major breakthroughs emerged during the 70s, but researchers say new methods developed in the last few years, and innovations just now emerging from the laboratories, will make solar power -- which is already competitive in some applications -- an increasingly important contributor to the world's energy supply. Most people in the solar energy field expect it will "really take off in about 1993 to 1995," said electrical engineer Richard Swanson of Stanford University, who has developed what are presently the world's most efficient solar cells. For a home or farm in remote areas not served by power lines, a solar-power system "right now is cost-effective against a diesel- power system," the present standard in small electric generators, according to Satyen Deb, manager of photovoltaic research for the federally-funded Solar Energy Research Institute in Colorado. And solar cells have always played an important role in the space program; they are the standard source of power for satellites and other long-term applications. As the US space station takes shape in orbit, their role will become ever more important -- especially since the only real alternative, small nuclear generators, may no longer be acceptable because of fears of what might happen to nuclear fuel in the event of a Challenger-type launch accident. But solar technology will really take off when it becomes competitive with other kinds of power plants that feed the nation's electrical transmission grid. "By the turn of the century, we should make a strong penetration in the grid market," Deb predicted last week. Ways of harnessing the sun span the gamut of technology, from the simple to the futuristic, and all have a part to play.
At the simple end, there are already several million solar stoves, consisting of dish-shaped aluminum reflectors, being used in India. They have made a dent in the problem of deforestation -- obtaining fuel for cooking is one of the principal reasons for cutting trees in developing countries.
At the futuristic end, an inventor in Athol has patented a completely new kind of solar-electric cell that he says could be far more efficient and far cheaper than the silicon panels now in use, making solar power practial for everything from individual homes and farms to huge solar installations for utilities.
And in between, improvements in silicon solar cells promise to bring down costs enough to make this technology competitive with other power sources. Prominent among them is the development of "amorphous silicon," a glass-like material that can be coated onto a thin plastic sheet to replace the expensive pure silicon crystals of traditional solar cells.
Potentially the most exciting development is the solar cell invented by Athol-based Alvin M. Marks, a 77-year-old inventor with more than 100 patents to his name. If his calculations are right, Marks' system could provide all of the nation's electrical needs at a fraction of today's cost with the equivalent of a single 100-mile- square of solar panels located in a sunny desert area -- eliminating the need for coal, oil, or nuclear plants with their attendant hazards. Marks, who was an energy consultant to President Kennedy, was inspired to develop his solar power system during a conversation about the great need for solar power in developing nations, where sunlight tends to be abundant and power plants scarce. "About five years ago," Marks said in an interview, "we were sitting with an official from the United Nations talking about photovoltaics in the Third World. He said,`isn't there something you can do to make them more efficient?'" Marks agreed to think about it, and before long he had concluded there was a way. His first solar patent, for a glass-plate collector he calls Lepcon (light to electric power converter), was issued in 1984. It was followed in 1986 by a patent for a lower-cost, plastic- sheet version called Lumeloid. His latest patent on an improved version of the technology was granted last month. Although some scientists question his figures, Marks says his technology could theoretically have an efficiency of 80 percent -- that is, 80 percent of the sun's power reaching the cell would be converted to usable electricity. By comparison, the most advanced design silicon cell in Swanson's laboratory at Stanford has produced about 28 percent efficiency and available commercial versions average about 10 to 12 percent.
The basic technology of Marks' cells is a modification of systems used to pick up microwave transmissions, which do achieve efficiencies of 80 percent in real world applications, not just in Page 7 the lab. Critics, however, point out that microwaves used for communications are all of the same wavelength, while sunlight is a mixture of many wavelengths, or colors, of light. Marks says he has taken this into account, because his cells would consist of millions of tiny "antennas" of different lengths, each tuned to a different wavelength of light so that among them, they would pick up light of all colors. Some critics also question Marks' optimism about how quickly the technology could be made practical for manufacturing in commercial quantities. Marks thinks one version could be in production within two years, while others think it may be quite a few years off. No one, however, disputes the principle involved, which is based on well-established concepts. Conventional solar cells generate electricity with an array of tiny transistor-like areas of semiconductor material on a silicon chip, which absorb energy from light to break electrons loose and send them toward one terminal of the cell, producing an electric current. Marks' cells will use an array of even tinier metal strips, which serve as antennas to pick up energy from light in much the same way that a radio antenna picks up energy from radio waves. The current produced in each antenna is intially AC, or alternating current, unlike the DC (direct current) of conventional cells, but tiny diodes -- one-way electrical "valves" -- in the gaps between antennas would convert the current to DC.
Lumeloid, the cheaper but less-durable version of his system, is an offshoot of a polarizing filter that was Marks' first invention. His was the first man-made material commercially produced to polarize, predating Edwin Land's polarizing filters. One version developed later by Marks is still in production for polarizing sunglasses and 3-D movie glasses.
Light can be thought of as waves or vibrations, and in ordinary light these vibrations move every which way. In polarized light, the vibrations all move in the same direction -- vertically or horizontally. The production of the polarizing filters, and of Lumeloid, seems to have more in common with candy making than with the high-tech, clean-room process used to make silicon cells. "You make a syrup," Marks explains, of chemicals called polymers that form long-chain molecules, suspended in an electrically conductive material. "You stretch it like taffy, and all the molecules become parallel." In a simple large-scale way, this process yields millions of the microscopic chain-like molecules all lined up in a neat grid that can filter out all the light rays that vibrate in one direction, allowing those that vibrate in the other to pass through -- producing polarized light. By simply adding a different kind of chemical to the recipe -- a "donor- receptor" molecule -- the polarizing filter becomes a solar generator, Marks says.
Marks expects the lightweight plastic Lumeloid, manufactured by the "taffy-pulling" method to be the first of his solar materials to reach the production stage. If he can raise the financial backing he needs He is negotiating with state and federal agencies as well as private investors), he thinks a prototype could be made in about nine months. "The reason I'm so sure about Lumeloid," Marks said last week, "is because I've been involved in polarizing material for decades, and the materials are not that different." Others are not so sure. Elliot Berman, chief scientist for Arco Solar company, a maker of silicon cells, said in an interview that "it's a good idea, I just don't think he can build it." "It's not that it's impossible," Berman added, "it's just not practical at the present time. It's pretty far away." Berman conceded, however, that he is not familiar with the details of Marks' manufacturing plans. Edgar Demeo, head of solar power research for the Electric Power Research Institute, takes a middle position, saying the Marks system is "an elegant approach to converting solar energy" and "is a very nice idea and is worthy of some basic research at this point." But, he added, it may take "a number of years" to become a commercial product. In the meantime, Berman sees other developments that could reach the market sooner and make substantial inroads in a variety of applications. "I think there are some substantial progress," he said.
Solar cells have dropped in price from about $20 per watt of output 15 years ago to about $5 per watt today, and Berman sees the new amorphous silicon cells -- especially a version he calls "tandem cells," where amorphous (glasslike instead of crystalline) cells sensitive to one color of light are paired with cells sensitive to another color in order to improve efficiency -- cutting that price in half within the next two and a half years. That would bring it close to the range of other power sources, which generally cost between $1 and $2 per watt. When that happens, Berman said, solar power will have reached the price level "where we think this will be practical for widespread use.
http://www.triplepundit.com/pages/nanoantennas-solar-arrays-that-002905.php
Nanoantennas: Solar arrays that absorb energy even in the dark!!
A collaboration of physicists, scientists and businesses have teamed up to create cheap and highly effective solar cells on a nanoscopic scale. Spearheaded by the Idaho National Laboratory, this team is onto a fresh way of producing solar panels that can continue to absorb energy even after the sun has set. The technology, not only efficient at nearly 80%, will also be cheap to manufacture, at estimated pennies a yard.
A specialized manufacturing process will stamp tiny square spirals of a conducting metal onto a think sheet of plastic that have been coined “nanoantennas.” At the slight width on the order of 1/25 the diameter of a human hair, these nanoantennas can absorb energy produced through the infrared spectrum. Infrared energy is produced in massive quantities by the sun, a portion of which is absorbed by the earth only to be released as radiation after the sun has set. These nanoantennas can absorb energy from both the rays of the daylight sun and the heat radiated from the earth at a higher efficiency than modern solar cells.
Steven Novak, a physicist at the Idaho National Laboratory spoke on this technology he is working on at the National Nano Engineering Conference in Boston. He said, “I think these antennas really have the potential to replace traditional solar panels.”
The technology simply mimics that of your cell phone or television antenna, absorbing energy by resonance. The theory that has born the research to produce these nanoantennas was based upon this platform; just make an antenna small enough to absorb the miniscule wavelengths produced by electromagnetic radiation.
The technology behind these atomic sized power modules is nothing new, but it has taken many years to discover an efficient way to print these miniscule spiraled antennas. It wasn’t until the inception of booming advancements in nanotechnology that this fine concept was taken from the theory to the tooling with production of these nanoantennas. The team at the INL forecast seeing the antennas produced akin to that of foil or plastic wrap in rolls of highly efficient solar cells. The team has been able to demonstrate an imprinting process with six-inch circular stamps, with each stamp containing more than 10 million antennas.
Instead of pairing this technology up with conventional solar cells to give them a boost in efficiency, the developers decided instead to make the nanoantennas independent energy harvesters. The team has estimated that individual nanoantennas are capable of absorbing nearly 80 percent of the available energy bombarded onto us daily by the sun. That is a staggering number compared to the conventional panels producing at around 20 percent.
Nanoantennas are not limited to silicon mediums, the circuits can actually be made from a variety of conducting metals and the antennas can be printed onto very thin and flexible materials such as polyethylene. The team has also estimated that the nanoantenna arrays can be available for as much as an inexpensive roll of carpet.
Although the physics of one resonating nanoantenna is certainly
achievable, the trick to making this work lies in the matrix of
complex vast arrays. The trouble will be in predicting the
properties and perfecting the design before tackling the
manufacturing obstacles that lie ahead. Multiple antennas create
complex and sometimes unpredictable interactions. To jump this
hurdle the researchers are developing a computer model of the
resonance in these invisible structures, seeking out ways to
fine-tune the efficiency of an entire array through tinkering
with the materials and shapes of the antennas for example. “The
ability to model these antennas is what’s going to make is
successful, because we can’t see these things,” says Novack.
“They are hard to manipulate, and small tweaks are going to make
big differences.”
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Comments
This idea was thought of a long time ago and the federal
government never wanted to put any money into it, because it was
obvious that it was a better way to go. For the originator look
up Lepcon, Lumeloid, and Alvin Marks.
» Joe at April 3, 2008 2:17 AM
Alvin MARKS' Lepcon / Lumeloid Patents
US6501093
2002-12-31
A solid state Quantum high Energy density Storage Or Retrieval
device known as a quensor, and the trademark ENSOR(TM), having
an energy density of about 1-15 kwhr/kg, comparable to gasoline,
or more, is described. A fundamentally new principle is
employed: A quensor film comprises oriented molecules with donor
and acceptor groups and with metal layers on its surfaces. A
dipole electric field may be established in the gap between a
donor and an acceptor. Electric energy is stored in or retrieved
from dipole electric fields throughout the volume of the quensor
film. Electric energy is stored in the quensor film by charging
the dipole electric fields from an electric energy source.
Electric energy is retrieved from a quensor film by discharging
the dipole electric fields and supplying the energy to a load.
Electric breakdown in the film is avoided because positive and
negative electric charges in the film are balanced everywhere.
Busbars attached to the metal layers are connected to terminals
for charging or discharging the device. The manufacture of a
quensor film is described. A composite photovoltaic and quensor
panel for the storage or retrieval of solar-electric energy day
or night on demand is also described.
Monomolecular resist and process
US5268258
1993-12-07
A process for the manufacture of submicron circuits uses a
submicron beam writer having multiple beams to Inscribe
simultaneously a plurality of metal patterns onto a glass
surface having a monoatomic or monomolecular resist. The beams
produce a plurality of charged double layers constituting the
pattern. Metal is deposited according to the pattern. The
pattern may have metal strips with 20 to 100 A gaps coated with
different materials having different work functions on opposing
gap-faces, forming tunnel junctions acting as diodes. The
patterns may be costed with Insulating coatings. The
manufacturing equipment, chemistry and processes for
manufacturing these sheet products are described. The sheet
products may be employed as a light-electric power converter
(LEPCON TM ); or, in reverse with electric power supplied, as a
large area laser, (ELCON TM ) used for 2D or 3D displays, for a
high density high speed computer matrix and for a variety of
uses.
LIGHT-POLARIZING ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING FILM
WO9206503
1992-04-16
A light polarizing electrically conducting film (32) includes a
two-dimensional array of conductors stretch oriented in a
polymer film. The orientation produces gaps in the conductors.
The film also contains molecular diodes, called diads (24, 24'),
which bridge a sufficient number of the gaps to permit
conduction of electricity in the conductors when exposed to
light. An interdigitated electrode array (37, 38) contacts the
film. The diads are polarized by light and rotated by an
electrostatic field (35, 36) applied through the electrode array
before the polymer film is dried, whereby the diads provide
unidirectional flow of electricity. The magnitude of the
electrostatic field is increased, without electrical breakdown,
by placing the portion of the film, whose diads are being
polarized and rotated, in an atmosphere of a high-dielectric
gas. A method for continuous production of the film is
disclosed.
Lighting devices with quantum electric/light power
converters
US4972094
1990-11-20
Lighting devices are described in which the light source
comprises a plurality of light emitting structures utilizing the
direct conversion of electron energy to photon energy, at high
efficiency. Structures are described which will emit color or
white light. The lighting devices include thin light sources
which emit polarized light in a radiation lobe pattern or as a
parallel beam of light, useful for ceiling panels for general
polarized nonglare lighting, street lighting, polarized
automobile nonglare systems, and long life white light electric
lighting lightbulbs with screwin sockets for 120v AC, which are
self rectifying. A solar powered street lamp system is also
described.
Ordered dipolar light-electric power converter
US4574161
1986-03-04
EP0176781
1986-04-09
A bulk process is described which is capable of producing large
area sheets about 8 micrometers thick having the property of
light/electric power conversion at extremely high production
rates (many m<2>/s) at low cost ( DOLLAR 1/m<2>).
The devices have an inherently high efficiency 60-80% when
laminated in an assembly to utilize both resolved light vectors.
A light/electric power converter is described comprising a sheet
containing oriented dipolar conducting linear structures forming
an antennae array capable of absorbing light photons and
producing a unidirectional electric current. These linear
structures constitute submicron antennae and femto diode circuit
elements. The individual antenna-circuit elements are
self-ordered into the linear structure using a bulk process. The
process utilizes (1) electro-ordering a suspension of elongated
submicron metal crystals; or (2) molecules capable of absorbing
a light photon and converting its energy to electric energy; or
(3) visco-elastically stretch-orienting a light-electric
responsive preformed heteropolymer. These submicron linear
structures comprise a plurality of quantum well-steps, each with
an assymetric tunnel junction at one end, in ordered three
dimensional arrays. The manufacture uses a simple low cost bulk
process and does not employ the submicron facility needed for
the earlier planular process.
Femto diode and applications
EP0172464
1986-02-26
The quantum regime and its properties are described and applied
in the invention of a diode, termed a Femto Diode, responsive to
light frequencies. In the quantum regime the conventional
concepts of electrical resistance, resistive loss, and
capacitance do not apply. The Femto Diode of this invention
comprises a submicron metal cylinder acting as a potential well
for an energetic electron with an assymetric tunnel junction at
one end and reflecting step at the other end. The energetic
electron is produced by the absorption in the metal cylinder of
an energy quanta nu such as a photon in the visible light range.
The energetic electron travels back and forth without collision
or energy loss in its own conduction band within the potential
well until it passes through the junction; whereupon its kinetic
energy is converted to electrical potential energy at a greater
voltage on the other side of the junction. This forward current
is proportional to the input rate of energy quanta; but the
reverse current is limited by a tunnel junction comprising new
and novel materials and dimensions. A first terminal is attached
to the metal cylinder to provide electrons to replace those
which pass through the junction; and a second terminal is
attached to the metal on the other side of the junction. The
Femto Diode of this device has applications in diverse fields
such as light to electric power conversion, an electric power to
light laser, high-speed computers and communications which are
disclosed.
Electro-optical dipole suspension with
reflective-absorptive-transmissive characteristics
US4663083
1987-05-05
An electro-optical dipolar suspension is described which is
silvery-reflective at no voltage, which becomes black-opaque at
small voltage, and transmittive at an increase of voltage. Such
a dipole suspension is useful in displays because of greater
contrast, decreased operating voltage, power, and cost.
Device for conversion of light power to electric power
US4445050
1984-04-24
This invention relates to a high efficiency device for the direct conversion of light power to electrical power. Present photocells for accomplishing this purpose are well known to the art and have a theoretical efficiency not exceeding about 20%. In practice, realization of efficiency of about 10% has been achieved, but ultimately the theoretical limitation is an upper limit which cannot be exceeded by devices utilizing known construction. The present device differs from the prior art devices in that it utilizes a plurality of dipole antennae for absorbing light photons, employing an alternating electrical field of said photons to cause electrons in the dipole antenna to resonate therewith and absorb electrical power therefrom, with means for rectifying said AC power to DC, said DC being accumulated on conducting busbars from the plurality of antennae and associated rectifying circuits.
Electroordered dipole suspension
US4442019
1984-04-10
An electrodichroic composition of matter comprising a concentrated suspension of submicron conductive particles in an insulating fluid which, upon the application of a strong electric field to the suspension, exhibits a new electroordering effect with greatly improved electrooptical properties. A novel process is described for increasing the resistivity of a dipole suspension. Improved electrooptical panels and displays can be made with compositions which comprise a suspension of submicron asymmetric particles of graphite, molybdenum disulfide, metals such as aluminum, or dichroic crystals such as Herapathite in an insulating fluid.
ELECTRO-OPTICAL DIPOLAR MATERIAL
US3653741
1972-04-04
An article of manufacture is provided as a matrix having
dispersed substantially uniformly therethrough a plurality of
electro-optically responsive dipole particles selected from the
group consisting of electrically conductive and semi-conductive
material and dichroic crystals, the matrix being a transparent
medium capable of being in the fluid state during the initial
orientation of the dipoles, whereby the dipoles are capable of
rotation to a desired preferred orientation upon the application
of a force field, the medium being thereafter solidified. A
method of applying the force field is disclosed.
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING SUBMICRON DIPOLE PARTICLES
US3900417
1975-08-19
Electrically responsive light controlling device employing
suspended dipole particles in a plastic film
US3341274
1967-09-12
Light polarizing structures
US3350982
1967-11-07
Light polarizing film and fibre forming method
US3265777
1966-08-09
Irreversible photothermotropic compositions
US3285746
1966-11-15
DIPOLAR ELECTRO-OPTIC STRUCTURES
US3512876
1970-05-19
Photothermotropic compositions containing ligands and
processes for utilizing same
US3236651
1966-02-22
Electrically responsive light controlling devices employing
suspended dipole particles and shear forces
US3257903
1966-06-28
Electrically conductive transparent materials
US3357930
1967-12-12
Stable, stretch-oriented, light polarizing polymeric film
US3253506
1966-05-31
Casting composition for light polarizing film
US3300436
1967-01-24
Ultra violet light absorbing compositions having a
suspension of submicron particles
US3298959
1967-01-17
Light polarizing structures incorporating uniaxial and
linear polarizers
US3205775
1965-09-14
Electro-thermo-phototropic compositions and apparatus
US3266370
1966-08-16
Multi-layered light polarizers
US3069974
1962-12-25
Light polarizing fabrics
US3016071
1962-01-09
Light polarizing device
US3026763
1962-03-27
Multi-layer light polarizing structure
US2982178
1961-05-02
Light polarizing illuminating device
US2810324
1957-10-22
Unitary multiply polarizer
US2492809
1949-12-27
Crystalline formation
US2344514
1944-03-21
Polarizing crystalline formation by transfer and expansion
US2398435
1946-04-16
Light polarizing device
US2167899
1939-08-01
Crystalline formation
US2199227
1940-04-30
Polarizing device
US2220111
1940-11-05
Crystalline formation
US2104949
1938-01-11