Description

Over the last decade, portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, mp3 players, PDAs and laptop computers have proliferated at a spectacular rate. Compact rechargeable batteries have been fundamental to the success of these products. So have increasingly powerful microchips, whose capacity has continued to observe the exponential growth described by Moore's Law. Unfortunately, the energy density of batteries has not.

Clever engineers have been able to maintain an acceptable time between charges by using power management software, new power-management chips, and more energy-efficient components, but such tweaks can only achieve so much. If portable electronics are to become still more powerful, consumers will either have to plug into the grid more often, or product designers will have to enable access to a more convenient source of energy.

And what could be more accessible than light? Efficient solar cells, drawing on sunlight or even artificial light, could extend the time between charges, perhaps even indefinitely.

The idea isn't new. Solar powered calculators have been available for decades. They require little power, however, and energy hogs like mobile phones present a more difficult problem.

An emerging technology, thin-film organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and dye-sensitized cells (DSCs) may be the solution. A host of companies is busily developing materials and intellectual property to establish themselves in this new market, from chemical giants such as BASF to highly focused start-ups such as Konarka and Plextronics.

Organic Photovoltaic Markets, a recent study by NanoMarkets, looks at the activities of these and many other companies to estimate the opportunity represented by these technologies.