AOH :: SOLAR2.TXT
More on the 70-80% efficient Lumeloid and Lepcon solar cells
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March 14, 1992
SOLAR2.ASC
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This file shared with KeelyNet courtesy of Chuck Henderson.
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The following is the information that I received in responce to my
telephone query of Phototherm requesting additional information on
their new solar cell technology. ....Chuck.
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<< cover Letter >>
ADVANCED RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT, INC.
359R Main Street
Athol,MA 01331
TEL.: (508) 249-4696
FAX: (508) 249-2134
February 19,1992
This information package is about an invention by Alvin M. Marks to
convert sunlight to electric power. A few years of Research and
Development are required to bring the thin film photovoltaic called
Lumeloid (tm) into production.
Alvin M. Marks was on President Kennedy's Power Panel and owns 120
patents. He invented Polarized film materials, 3D movie technology
and co-founded Marks Polarized Corporation. He received many U.S.
Government contracts for alternative energy until the early 1980's.
Studying the initial phase used in the process of photosynthesis
Alvin Marks employed his knowledge of polarizing film materials to
design aligned molecular antennae and molecular diodes to convert
sunlight directly to electric power.
Lumeloid's (tm) projected efficiency is 80%, (many times that of
conventional silicon photovoltaics) with an investment cost only a
fraction of existing electric power sources. Project Lumeloid's
(tm) success will revolutionize the electric power industry with low
cost efficient benign technology.
Phototherm, Inc., a Public Company, OTC, holds license rights to
Alvin Marks' light to electric power conversion patents. Advanced
Research Development, Inc. is privately owned and has an exclusive
R&D agreement with Phototherm, Inc.
Page 1
Project Lumeloid (tm) is partly funded by the Electric Power
Research Institute with Lowell University preparing special
materials for Marks' electrically-conducting polarized film. More
funds are necessary to expedite Research and Development.
Your support will help bring Lumeloid (tm) into Production and
enable your participation in a technology beneficial to all.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Haber
Program Director
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The following articles and letter were included as part of the
information packet.
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<< The following article is from the "Entrepreneurship Profile"
section of "TAIPAN" (magazine?), November 1990 >>
SOLAR BREAKTHROUGH - MASSACHUSETTS ENTREPRENEUR POINTS WAY TO
PROFITS FROM ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN TECHNOLOGY
In just two and a half hours enough radiant energy from the sun
falls onto the earth to supply all the energy (from all sources)
consumed by human civilization in an entire year.
The light that falls on a few hundred square kilometers in the
Southwestern desert of the United States is enough to power all of
North America. The problem, however, has always been how to harness
it.
The rap against conventional photovoltaic cells (which convert light
into electricity) has always been their cost. Conventional silicon-
based solar cells convert sunlight to electricity at an average cost
above US$0.30 per kilowatt hour (kwh). That is three to five times
what an average U.S. household pays for power from the local utility
company.
It is precisely this cost disadvantage that has limited most solar
applications to small-scale operations in remote areas far from
commercial power mains.
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-> Massachusetts Miracle
That is, until now. A 78-year old Massachusetts inventor, Dr. Alvin
Marks, has come up with a new kind of solar cell that promises to
produce electricity for less than US$0.02 per kwh.
If this is true, development of this technology could potentially
revolutionize the commercial power generation industry. After all,
conventional power plants are like prisons. But nobody wants one
built in their neighborhood.
On the other hand, a solar plant produces no radiation, smoke, or
acid rain. Moreover, its best location would be somewhere in a
desert -- where nobody lives anyway.
Marks' cost breakthrough was achieved by radical new design that
dramatically increases the efficiency of solar conversion. While
Page 2
conventional cells are able to capture and convert only 10% to 25%
of the sun's energy, Marks' new designs may capture as much as 80%.
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-> Dinner With Alvin
The genesis of this breakthrough was a dinner conversation that took
place seven years ago between Marks and the then Director of the
Third World Energy Division of the United Nations, Dr. Usmani.
After complaining about a photovoltaic test project in Africa that
had to be abandoned because it was too expensive and inefficient,
Usmani turned to Marks and said something to the effect of `You're
an inventor, can't you invent a better photovoltaic cell.'
Few people would be better equipped to accept such a challenge.
Marks patented his first invention in January 1938. His early work
lead to what the May 1935 issue of "SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN" termed a
1,000 to 1 cost reduction in the fabrication of materials to
polarize light.
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-> Polaroid Precursor
This cost breakthrough was instrumental in the subsequent
development of polarized sunglasses and Polaroid film. (In fact,
Marks was an early rival of Dr. Edwin Land, developer of the Land
Camera and founder of the Polaroid Corp.)
In the early 1960s, Marks was science advisor to the Kennedy White
House. Today, he holds a total of 120 patents -- a number of which
have application to solar power generation.
Marks new solar designs -- dubbed LEPCON (Light to Electric Power
Converter) and LUMELOID -- are built on an extention of systems
commonly used to receive microwave transmissions. (On the spectrum
of electromagnetic energy, the difference between microwaves and
visible light is merely that the latter have a higher frequency and
a shorter wavelength.)
Microwaves -- like other radio frequency transmissions -- are best
received using an antenna tuned to the wavelength of the incoming
signal. (When an electromagnetic wave strikes an electrically
conductive material, it induces an alternating current of the same
frequency of the incoming wave.)
In real-world microwave applications, the efficiency of this
connversion approaches 80%. LEPCON consists of millions of
microscopic antennas (tuned to the wavelengths of the visible
spectrum) embedded in a glass substrate. (LUMELOID use less
expensive plastic materials.)
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-> A Thousand Points Of Light
With microwaves (as well as with radar and radio), however, the same
tuned antenna will work as well for transmitting a signal as it does
for receiving it. Operate LEPCON in reverse and it becomes a light
source.
Marks calls this reverse application ELCON (Electricity to Light
Converter). ELCON elements in a group become a point of light, or a
pixel.
Page 3
The same technology used to pack millions of submicron antenna
elements in a glass or plastic substrate could be used to produce a
new kind of high-definition TV (HDTV) screen with much higher
resolution than present technology will allow.
Conventional U.S. TV uses 525 scanning lines of pixels per screen.
The most ambitious HDTV schemes yet proposed would use something on
the order of 1,250 lines per screen. Using ELCON technology, screens
using millions of lines may be possible -- for an 80,000% increase
in resolution.
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-> Phototherm, Inc.
Virtually all these ideas and devices have been patented by Marks.
But lack of funds for the development of commercial prototypes has
been a serious and continuing obstacle.
To get LUMELOID off the ground, Marks formed a public company.
Phototherm Inc. (OTC-pink sheets). However, it is still some
distance away from a commercial product. Marks estimates an
additional US$300,000 - US$500,000 will be necessary to get LUMELOID
to the prototype stage.
While North American interest in solar power has been sliding along
with oil prices since the late 1970s, that has not been the case
elsewhere. Last year, Marks made a deal with a Chinese company,
China Petroleum Engineering Construction Corporation, to develop the
LUMELOID prototype.
Phototherm Bahamas Ltd. has been established to facilitate this
endeavor and Chinese citizens will come to the Bahamas to learn the
process.
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-> Genius And Fortune
Because of the enormous breadth and depth of Marks' work, the
"TAIPAN" research department believes no 20th century entrepreneur
or inventor is destined to have greater positive effects on the
daily lives of millions of people. However, revolutionary ideas are
not any guarantee of quick commercial success.
Because so much work remains before any of these ventures are likely
to reach the stage of a profit-making enterprise, we suspect that
attractive returns on Phototherm shares may be distant enough to try
the patience of all but the most tenacious investors.
However, if war in the Persian Gulf leads to destruction of the
Saudi oil fields, we think promising technologies such as LEPCON and
LUMELOID would suddenly become clear leaders on the fast track to
commercial development.
In the meantime, however, investors and entrepreneurs in search of
more information should contact Dr. Alvin Marks, c/o Advanced
Research Development, Inc.,359 R Main St., Athol, MA USA 01331;
(508)249-4696; fax (508)249-2134.
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Page 4
<< The following article is from the "Money Matters" section of
"GREEN LIVING -- A Practical Journal For Friends Of The
Environment" magazine, Winter 1991/92 >>
INVESTING FOR A CLEANER EARTH AND BIG PAYOFF
By Marshall Glickman
Would you pay 25 cents for a share of a solar technology for which
Exxon offered $9 million?
That's the current price of Phototherm Inc., an Athol,
Massachusetts, solar technology company which is developing a new
ultra-efficient process of harnessing the sun's power.
The founder and brains behind Phototherm is Dr. Alvin M. Marks, an
octogenarian inventor and entrepreneur whose resume reads like an
award ceremony. Dr. Marks is the holder of 120 patents, has degrees
from Cooper Union Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and
M.I.T., and has served as a scientific advisor to the Kennedy
Adminstration. His work on polarizing film built Marks Polarized
Corp. into a multimillion dollar business.
Eight years ago Dr. Marks turned his full attention to improving the
efficiency of solar (photovoltaic) electricity. His work lead to a
patent (the one for which Exxon offered $9 million, according to a
1986 "NEW YORK TIMES" report) that claims to convert sunlight to
energy at 80% efficiency -- a cost of one to two cents per kilowatt
hour. That's less than a fifth of the present cost of energy from
fossil fuels and about one twentieth the cost of current
photovoltaic systems (which are lucky to achieve 15 percent
efficiency). The cost breakthrough is so incredible, that some
skeptics immediately dismiss Dr. Marks.
But Dr. Marks has made dramatic -- almost unbelievable --
improvements in light technology before. The May 1935 issue of
"SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN" noted Marks created a 1,000-to-1 cost
reduction in the fabrication of materials to polarize light. His
work with Phototherm has also impressed the Electric Power Research
Institute, the electric industry's research thinktank. The EPRI
recently backed Phototherm with $100,000 and has plans to add
another $100,000 soon.
Before you mortgage the house and whip out the checkbook, keep in
mind that Phototherm is a highly risky investment. And I emphasize
the word highly. Even though Dr. Marks is supremely confident his
technologies will work, it has never been tested in commercial
production. Dr. Marks is also eighty-one years old.
Even if his patented design is indeed revolutionary technology,
until Phototherm has enough money to hire a team of highly qualified
research assistants, it may be difficult to carry on his work should
he become ill (his health is excellent). Interest generated from a
recent "BUSINESS WEEK" story on Phototherm may help get the company
adequately financed, but until the cash comes through Dr. Marks must
concentrate on raising money instead of science and building
prototypes.
Consider investing in Phototherm as you would give money to
Page 5
environmental groups -- with the kicker that if it does work out
you'll get back a lot more than just clean air.
Phototherm is listed on the OTC pink sheets. If you'd like more
information about Phototherm, contact program director Jonathan
Haber at 359R Main Street; Athol, MA 01331; (508)249-4696.
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<< The following article is from the "Energy" section of
"THE BOSTON GLOBE", February 29,1988 >>
ADVANCES BRING SOLAR POWER CLOSER
Researchers Say Solar Will Take Off In Mid-90s, While Athol
Scientist Claims A Breakthrough
By David L. Chandler -- Globe Staff
It's not that there's a shortage of energy. In just two and a half
hours, enough sunlight falls on the Earth to supply all of mankind's
energy needs -- heat, light, cooking, transportation, industry and
every other energy-using activity -- for a full year.
It's there, the hard part is catching it.
Finding a practical and economical way to harness all that free,
ubiquitous energy has challenged scientists and engineers since the
energy crisis of the early 1970s awakened interest in alternative
power sources.
No major breakthroughs emerged during the 70s, but researchers say
new methods developed in the last few years, and innovations just
now emerging from the laboratories, will make solar power -- which
is already competitive in some applications -- an increasingly
important contributor to the world's energy supply.
Most people in the solar energy field expect it will "really take
off in about 1993 to 1995," said electrical engineer Richard Swanson
of Stanford University, who has developed what are presently the
world's most efficient solar cells.
For a home or farm in remote areas not served by power lines, a
solar-power system "right now is cost-effective against a diesel-
power system," the present standard in small electric generators,
according to Satyen Deb, manager of photovoltaic research for the
federally-funded Solar Energy Research Institute in Colorado.
And solar cells have always played an important role in the space
program; they are the standard source of power for satellites and
other long-term applications. As the US space station takes shape in
orbit, their role will become ever more important -- especially
since the only real alternative, small nuclear generators, may no
longer be acceptable because of fears of what might happen to
nuclear fuel in the event of a Challenger-type launch accident.
But solar technology will really take off when it becomes
competitive with other kinds of power plants that feed the nation's
electrical transmission grid. "By the turn of the century, we should
make a strong penetration in the grid market," Deb predicted last
week.
Page 6
Ways of harnessing the sun span the gamut of technology, from the
simple to the futuristic, and all have a part to play.
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*** At the simple end, there are already several million solar
stoves, consisting of dish-shaped aluminum reflectors, being
used in India. They have made a dent in the problem of
deforestation -- obtaining fuel for cooking is one of the
principal reasons for cutting trees in developing countries.
*** At the futuristic end, an inventor in Athol has patented a
completely new kind of solar-electric cell that he says could be
far more efficient and far cheaper than the silicon panels now
in use, making solar power practial for everything from
individual homes and farms to huge solar installations for
utilities.
*** And in between, improvements in silicon solar cells promise to
bring down costs enough to make this technology competitive with
other power sources. Prominent among them is the development of
"amorphous silicon," a glass-like material that can be coated
onto a thin plastic sheet to replace the expensive pure silicon
crystals of traditional solar cells.
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Potentially the most exciting development is the solar cell invented
by Athol-based Alvin M. Marks, a 77-year-old inventor with more than
100 patents to his name. If his calculations are right, Marks'
system could provide all of the nation's electrical needs at a
fraction of today's cost with the equivalent of a single 100-mile-
square of solar panels located in a sunny desert area -- eliminating
the need for coal, oil, or nuclear plants with their attendant
hazards.
Marks, who was an energy consultant to President Kennedy, was
inspired to develop his solar power system during a conversation
about the great need for solar power in developing nations, where
sunlight tends to be abundant and power plants scarce.
"About five years ago," Marks said in an interview, "we were sitting
with an official from the United Nations talking about photovoltaics
in the Third World. He said,`isn't there something you can do to
make them more efficient?'"
Marks agreed to think about it, and before long he had concluded
there was a way. His first solar patent, for a glass-plate collector
he calls Lepcon (light to electric power converter), was issued in
1984. It was followed in 1986 by a patent for a lower-cost, plastic-
sheet version called Lumeloid. His latest patent on an improved
version of the technology was granted last month.
Although some scientists question his figures, Marks says his
technology could theoretically have an efficiency of 80 percent --
that is, 80 percent of the sun's power reaching the cell would be
converted to usable electricity. By comparison, the most advanced
design silicon cell in Swanson's laboratory at Stanford has produced
about 28 percent efficiency and available commercial versions
average about 10 to 12 percent.
The basic technology of Marks' cells is a modification of systems
used to pick up microwave transmissions, which do achieve
efficiencies of 80 percent in real world applications, not just in
Page 7
the lab. Critics, however, point out that microwaves used for
communications are all of the same wavelength, while sunlight is a
mixture of many wavelengths, or colors, of light.
Marks says he has taken this into account, because his cells would
consist of millions of tiny "antennas" of different lengths, each
tuned to a different wavelength of light so that among them, they
would pick up light of all colors.
Some critics also question Marks' optimism about how quickly the
technology could be made practical for manufacturing in commercial
quantities. Marks thinks one version could be in production within
two years, while others think it may be quite a few years off.
No one, however, disputes the principle involved, which is based on
well-established concepts.
Conventional solar cells generate electricity with an array of tiny
transistor-like areas of semiconductor material on a silicon chip,
which absorb energy from light to break electrons loose and send
them toward one terminal of the cell, producing an electric current.
Marks' cells will use an array of even tinier metal strips, which
serve as antennas to pick up energy from light in much the same way
that a radio antenna picks up energy from radio waves.
The current produced in each antenna is intially AC, or alternating
current, unlike the DC (direct current) of conventional cells, but
tiny diodes -- one-way electrical "valves" -- in the gaps between
antennas would convert the current to DC.
Lumeloid, the cheaper but less-durable version of his system, is an
offshoot of a polarizing filter that was Marks' first invention.
His was the first man-made material commercially produced to
polarize, predating Edwin Land's polarizing filters. One version
developed later by Marks is still in production for polarizing
sunglasses and 3-D movie glasses.
Light can be thought of as waves or vibrations, and in ordinary
light these vibrations move every which way. In polarized light, the
vibrations all move in the same direction -- vertically or
horizontally.
The production of the polarizing filters, and of Lumeloid, seems to
have more in common with candy making than with the high-tech,
clean-room process used to make silicon cells.
"You make a syrup," Marks explains, of chemicals called polymers
that form long-chain molecules, suspended in an electrically
conductive material. "You stretch it like taffy, and all the
molecules become parallel." In a simple large-scale way, this
process yields millions of the microscopic chain-like molecules all
lined up in a neat grid that can filter out all the light rays that
vibrate in one direction, allowing those that vibrate in the other
to pass through -- producing polarized light. By simply adding a
different kind of chemical to the recipe -- a "donor- receptor"
molecule -- the polarizing filter becomes a solar generator, Marks
says.
Page 8
Marks expects the lightweight plastic Lumeloid, manufactured by the
"taffy-pulling" method to be the first of his solar materials to
reach the production stage. If he can raise the financial backing he
needs He is negotiating with state and federal agencies as well as
private investors), he thinks a prototype could be made in about
nine months.
"The reason I'm so sure about Lumeloid," Marks said last week, "is
because I've been involved in polarizing material for decades, and
the materials are not that different."
Others are not so sure. Elliot Berman, chief scientist for Arco
Solar company, a maker of silicon cells, said in an interview that
"it's a good idea, I just don't think he can build it."
"It's not that it's impossible," Berman added, "it's just not
practical at the present time. It's pretty far away." Berman
conceded, however, that he is not familiar with the details of
Marks' manufacturing plans.
Edgar Demeo, head of solar power research for the Electric Power
Research Institute, takes a middle position, saying the Marks system
is "an elegant approach to converting solar energy" and "is a very
nice idea and is worthy of some basic research at this point." But,
he added, it may take "a number of years" to become a commercial
product.
In the meantime, Berman sees other developments that could reach the
market sooner and make substantial inroads in a variety of
applications. "I think there are some substantial progress," he
said.
Solar cells have dropped in price from about $20 per watt of output
15 years ago to about $5 per watt today, and Berman sees the new
amorphous silicon cells -- especially a version he calls "tandem
cells," where amorphous (glasslike instead of crystalline) cells
sensitive to one color of light are paired with cells sensitive to
another color in order to improve efficiency -- cutting that price
in half within the next two and a half years. That would bring it
close to the range of other power sources, which generally cost
between $1 and $2 per watt.
When that happens, Berman said, solar power will have reached the
price level "where we think this will be practical for widespread
use.
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>>> NOTE: I am including the following letter to provide another
possible source of information on his research.
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<< The following letter is from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou,
China. Cable: 0420 HANGZHOU, Telex: 35040 ZUFAO ON,
Fax: 0571 - 571797. 723582 >>
Page 9
Dept. of Chemistry
Zhejiang University
Hangzhou, 310027
Dec. 20, 1991
President Alvin M. Marks
Advanced Research Development Inc.
359R Main Street, Athol, MA01331
U.S.A.
Dear President Marks:
Thank you for your letter of oct. 29. I'm very glad to inform
you that the proposal of cooperation between our university and your
Inc. on the research of polymeric light /electric power conversion
has been approved by our university. Now, we are waiting the reply
from the Chinese Petrolium Engineering Construction Corporation
(CPECC) for the financial support to this project.
In our institute, about ten staff members including five
professors, five doctors and graduated students will be involved in
this research work.
We look forward to a fruitful and mutually stimulating program
of cooperation between us.
Merry Christmas and wish you a happy new year.
Sincerely,
Xu You-yi
cc: The members involved in the program in our Institute.
Prof.: Shi-ling Yang
Associate Prof.: You-yi Xu; Mang Wang; Mu-jie Yang;
Qing-mei Hu
Dr.: Zhi-kang Xu; Hong-zhen Chen
Graduated students: Zhi-ping Lu; Pu-deng Pan; Jiu-li Shen
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The information in this file is in response and addition to the
material that is contained in file SOLAR1.ASC (or .ZIP). If you want
more information, I will be posting another file (SOLAR3.) shortly.
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If you have comments or other information relating to such topics
as this paper covers, please upload to KeelyNet or send to the
Vangard Sciences address as listed on the first page.
Thank you for your consideration, interest and support.
Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson
Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet
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If we can be of service, you may contact
Jerry at (214) 324-8741 or Ron at (214) 242-9346
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