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Thin-Film Solar Energy
Did you know almost two billion people in the world have no access to electricity? For many, solar power would be their cheapest electricity source, but they can’t afford it. Applied Materials’ award winning leadership in thin-film solar technology provides innovations aimed at leveling the solar energy playing field — bringing the dream of affordable solar energy to life.
SunFab Solar
Both Da Vinci and Einstein dreamt of a sun-powered world, but in 2006, fewer than 2,000 megawatts of new solar electricity modules were produced worldwide. Applied Materials is changing that paradigm. A single SunFab Thin Film Line makes the world's largest solar panels — 5.7 meters square — and is capable of generating 60 megawatts of electricity each year. That's more than enough to power nearly 10,000 U.S. homes with virtually zero green house gas emissions. And, that's just part of our world-changing, clean-energy strategy.
Crystalline Silicon Solar Energy
Crystalline silicon solar cells absorb “photons” from sunlight to generate electricity. The key cost factor — and you probably guessed right — is making the wafer substrates as thin as possible. Applied’s industry-leading Precision Wafering System cuts silicon ingots into wafers as thin as 100 microns, that’s about the thickness of a human hair. Electricity from a sliver of silicon, amazing!
Green Light
Continuing its critical role in the electronics industry, nanotechnology has proven its versatility and cost-effectiveness by enabling the creation of LED lighting that uses 93% less energy, while emitting brightness levels equal to more traditional light sources.
Solid State Drives
Solid state drives (SSDs) are the newest storage solution with no moving parts — Flash memory-based, lighter than a drop of water, they run with barely a hum. Enabled by Applied’s nanomanufacturing technology, SSDs consume 80-90% less energy than conventional hard disk drives. Just think, if every new server used this technology, 40 billion kilowatt hours of electricity could be saved by 2014 — enough to power nearly 4 million U.S. homes for one year!
Recognition
Applied came in at number 4 on The Cleantech Blog “Power 10” Ranking of cleantech companies doing it right. Eligibility for inclusion in the ranking required the company to be energy or environmental technology-related and providing solutions the market needs.
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