-----Original Message----- From: Horace Heffner > I am curious as to why you think circuits have to be etched? To use silicon for a solar cell I think it has to be doped, so as to create a PN boundary. It is the potential drop across the PN boundary that actually drives a solar cell. The sun "merely" creates the ions in the gap so they can be accelerated across it.
Yes, all that is true, but as I understand the factors that drive photocell efficiency - the etching is required to get "makeup" electrons to the "depleted" sites with as little resistance as possible, and in the opposite path - to remove them. Metal lines may not be required for this, since silicon can be doped to conduct reasonably well, but it is probably more efficient that way. In the case of "liquid glass" the cool thing is that one could also (probably) dope various layers easily by adding an electrolyte or nanopowder in a few percent - right to the product - and apply in thin films. That could be done easier than with a crystalline material - heck you might even be able to do triple or quadruple layering with liquid glass if- as Ron mentioned, the circuit layer(s), could be matched up... aluminum coated mylar might work and has the advantage of transparency. You will probably see this in a high school science fair project soon - if it is indeed this simple to pull off. Jones
