Spire patents quantum dot production

Mass.-based manufacturing equipment maker Spire (Nasdaq: SPIR) announced today it has been granted a U.S. patent for a method that produces quantum dot nanoparticles.

The semiconductor structures are approximately one 25-millionth of an inch in size. When exposed to light at predetermined wavelengths, they can excite electrons and generate an electrical current.

The dots can be used for high efficiency, low-cost solar cells (see the Cleantech Group's interview with Jin Zhang about Challenging silicon’s grip on solar), LED lights, and lasers.

Spire’s senior scientist Kurt Linden noted in a statement that the technique for making quantum dots was developed in Spire’s solar cell manufacturing division.

“Such techniques are expected to achieve large-scale volumes of active nanostructures with a highly consistent size,” he said. “This consistency of size can provide a number of important scientific and commercial benefits.”

Roger G. Little, chairman and CEO of Spire, noted that quantum dots are an "exciting field of research" in solar energy today, and that they have other similarly important applications in medical research and diagnostics.

“Quantum dots have the potential to improve the efficiency of solar cells beyond levels currently available,” he said.

“The challenge has always been how to manufacture these small structures with the consistency needed to take advantage of their unique properties. Our scientists have conceived of a large-scale method that may allow the promise of this technology to be realized.”

Spire is a prominent supplier of the equipment to manufacture photovoltaic modules, cells and wafers. Among its chief rivals are semiconductor giant Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), which has in recent years strategically focused on the solar equipment market.

Spire was granted U.S. Patent Number 7,306,963 for its method entitled “Precision Synthesis of Quantum Dot Nanostructures for Fluorescent and Optoelectronic Devices.”

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