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Alta Devices was a US-based specialty gallium arsenide (GaAs) PV manufacturer, which claimed to have achieved a solar cell
conversion efficiency Energy conversion efficiency (''η'') is the ratio between the useful output of an energy conversion machine and the input, in energy terms. The input, as well as the useful output may be chemical, electric power, mechanical work, light (radi ...
record of 29.1%, as certified by Germany's Fraunhofer ISE CalLab. The company has ceased operations.


History

Alta Devices was founded in 2007 by Eli Yablonovitch and Harry Atwater and manufactured solar photovoltaic applications for mobile devices that enable the conversion of light into electricity. The firm was acquired by Hanergy Group, a privately held Chinese multinational renewable energy company, in 2013 The firm's technology was significant for
unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
s (UAVs),
solar car A solar car is a solar vehicle for use on public roads or race tracks. Solar vehicles are electric vehicles that use self-contained solar cells to power themselves fully or partially from sunlight. Solar vehicles typically contain a rechargeable ...
s, and other
electric vehicle An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes ch ...
s.' NASA has been testing its solar technology for the International Space Station. The firm had been working with
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The o ...
on 'solar roofs' for their automobiles. Audi working with Alta Devices on cars with ‘solar roofs’ Opics.org. 24 Aug 2017
/REF> The firm broke efficiency records for single-junction solar cells and solar modules. In 2016, Alta Devices broke the world record conversion efficiency for dual-junction solar cell using InGaP/GaAs tandem structure. The world record was certified by National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This is the second time Alta Devices broke world record efficiency. The first time was 30.8% in 2013. In 2019, the company ceased operations.


Awards

* 2018 - Finalist in the 2019
Prism Awards for Photonics Innovation SPIE (formerly the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, later the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers) is an international not-for-profit professional society for optics and photonics technology, founded in 1955. It ...
, determined by
SPIE SPIE (formerly the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, later the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers) is an international not-for-profit professional society for optics and photonics technology, founded in 1955. It ...
and ''Photonics Media''.


See also

* Solar cell efficiency *
Timeline of solar cells In the 19th century, it was observed that the sunlight striking certain materials generates detectable electric current – the photoelectric effect. This discovery laid the foundation for solar cells. Solar cells have gone on to be used in many ap ...


References

Photovoltaics manufacturers Renewable energy companies of the United States {{renewable-energy-stub