Hybrid energy device, system and method thereof

Abstract

A multi-layer device having a transparent or semi-transparent substrate; a solar cell layer coupled to the substrate; an energy storage layer coupled to the solar cell layer; and a converter layer coupled to the energy storage layer. The solar cell layer has a plurality of solar cells for receiving light through the substrate and converting energy of the received light into first electrical energy; the energy storage layer has one or more energy storage units for storing second electrical energy; and the converter layer has one or more power converters electrically connected to the solar cell layer and the energy storage layer for receiving the first electrical energy and the second electrical energy from the solar cell layer and the energy storage layer and outputting third electrical energy through an output thereof.

Description

[0001] Cross Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62 / 831,828, filed April 10, 2019, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by this reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates to energy devices, systems, and methods thereof, and in particular to devices and systems that integrate hybrid energy sources, such as solar cells and batteries for providing electrical energy for various applications. BACKGROUND

[0004] Solar energy has been widely used as a clean and practical energy source. For example, solar panels can be deployed at locations with abundant sunlight, such as rooftops, for collecting solar energy and converting the collected solar energy into electrical power for powering various electrical devices. Solar panels in various forms, styles, and sizes have been widely used as energy components for various devices, such as solar shingles, phone chargers, residential appliances, industrial devices, etc.

[0005] For example, FIGS. 1-3 show some prior art solar energy collection systems using reference numeral 10 to collectively represent. In the solar energy collection system 10 shown in FIG. 1, a solar panel 12, or more specifically, a photovoltaic (PV) panel, is used to convert solar energy into electricity and output it to an electrical power converter 14. The electrical power converter 14 converts the received electricity into a usable form that can be used to power a load 16.

[0006] The electrical power converter 14 is also connected to an alternating current (AC) utility grid 20 via a switch 18. Thus, when the switch 18 is closed, the electrical power converter 14 can output power to the AC utility grid 20 for powering various devices (not shown) electrically connected thereto, or for powering the load 16 using the AC utility grid 20 when the output of the electrical power converter 14 is insufficient.

[0007] Energy storage can be used to provide reliability to the system 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the prior art system 10 in this example also includes an energy storage 22, such as a battery assembly connected to the load 16 and the AC utility grid 20 via another electrical power converter 24. By using the battery assembly 22, the system 10 can compensate for the intermittency of the solar energy output from the PV panel 12 and improve system reliability.

[0008] FIG. 3 shows a solar energy collection system 10 similar to the prior art shown in FIG. 2, but connected to a load 16 and a direct current (DC) utility grid 26 instead of the AC utility grid 20.

[0009] Prior art solar harvesting systems have drawbacks and / or challenges, for example:

[0010] Unreliability of solar power generation due to intermittency of sunlight.

[0011] Wide range of variations in the operating point (e.g., voltage, current, and / or the like) of the solar harvesting system due to variation in solar irradiance throughout the day, which significantly reduces the overall efficiency of the system.

[0012] To provide resilience to the system, the system typically requires a utility grid, i.e., the utility grid is required to provide power to various loads when solar power is insufficient or unavailable.

[0013] Due to these drawbacks and / or challenges, the prior art solar harvesting systems can not provide an optimal solution for many emerging applications, such as solar tiles, solar chargers, and the like. Therefore, the prior art solar harvesting systems with sub-optimal or even non-optimized performance will adversely affect the rapid growth of solar power systems. Therefore, there is a need for a reliable solar harvesting solution. SUMMARY

[0014] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a hybrid energy device or module that integrates solar cells, battery cells, and in some embodiments, electronic circuits in an efficient and reliable manner, thereby resulting in a reliable energy device or module with high efficiency.

[0015] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a multi-layer energy device, comprising: a transparent or semi-transparent substrate; a solar cell layer coupled to the substrate, the solar cell layer comprising a plurality of solar cells for receiving light passing through the substrate and converting energy of the received light into first electrical energy; an energy storage layer coupled with the solar cell layer, the energy storage layer comprising one or more energy storage cells for storing second electrical energy; and a converter layer coupled to the energy storage layer, the converter layer comprising one or more power converters electrically connected to the solar cell layer and the energy storage layer for receiving the first electrical energy and the second electrical energy from the solar cell layer and the energy storage layer and outputting third electrical energy through an output thereof.

[0016] In some embodiments, the substrate comprises a glass layer.

[0017] In some embodiments, the substrate comprises a flexible, transparent, or semi-transparent material.

[0018] In some embodiments, the substrate comprises a transparent or semi-transparent plastic material.

[0019] In some embodiments, the substrate comprises at least one of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethersulfone (PES).

[0020] In some embodiments, the solar cell layer is printed or deposited onto the substrate.

[0021] In some embodiments, the energy storage layer is printed or deposited onto the solar cell layer.

[0022] In some embodiments, the solar cell layer includes: an anode sublayer coupled to the substrate; a cathode sublayer coupled to the substrate; a polyethyleneimine and polyethyleneimine ethoxylated (PEIE) sublayer coupled to the ZnO sublayer; an organic solar cell sublayer coupled to the PEIE sublayer; a molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) sublayer coupled to the solar cell sublayer; and a cathode sublayer coupled to the MoO3 sublayer.

[0023] In some embodiments, the anode sublayer includes indium tin oxide (ITO).

[0024] In some embodiments, the cathode sublayer includes silver (Ag) or aluminum (Al).

[0025] In some embodiments, the sublayer of the solar cell includes a polymer solar cell.

[0026] In some embodiments, the sublayer of the solar cell includes a bulk heterojunction (BHJ) sublayer.

[0027] In some embodiments, the energy storage layer includes at least one of one or more battery cells and one or more semiconductor capacitors.

[0028] In some embodiments, each of the one or more battery cells includes: a first current collector sublayer; an anode sublayer coupled to the first current collector sublayer; a solid state electrolyte sublayer coupled to the anode sublayer; a cathode sublayer coupled to the solid state electrolyte sublayer; and a second current collector sublayer coupled to the cathode sublayer.

[0029] In some embodiments, at least one of the first and second current collector sublayers includes aluminum.

[0030] In some embodiments, the solid state electrolyte sublayer includes LiBrF4 and a first semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) skeletal material having Al2O3.

[0031] In some embodiments, the solid state electrolyte sublayer is made from 1 mole per liter (mol / liter) LiBF4 in a 85 / 15 weight / weight (w / w) ratio of sulfolane (SBN) and a first semi-IPN skeletal material mixed with about 300 mole per liter Al2O3 in a 60 / 40 w / w ratio.

[0032] In some embodiments, the anode sublayer includes activated Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) with a first carbon material and a second semi-IPN skeletal material. 12 ​

[0033] In some embodiments, the cathode sublayer includes activated LiCoO2(LCO) having a second carbon material and a third semi-IPN backbone material.

[0034] In some embodiments, the first and / or second carbon includes at least one of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and carbon powder.

[0035] In some embodiments, the activated LTO is SWCNT-coated LTO.

[0036] In some embodiments, the activated LCO is SWCNT-coated LCO.

[0037] In some embodiments, the semi-IPN backbone material includes an ultraviolet (UV) cured polymer.

[0038] In some embodiments, the UV cured polymer includes ethoxylated trimethylolpropane triacrylate (ETPTA) incorporating 1.0 weight percent (wt%) of 2-hydroxy-2-methylpropionphenone (HMPP) and poly(vinylidene-fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-HFP) with 6 mole percent (mol%) of HFP, at a weight ratio of ETPTA / PVdF-HFP of 75 / 25 (w / w).

[0039] In some embodiments, each of the one or more semiconductor capacitors includes n number of gallium arsenide (GaAs) sublayers interleaved with (n+1) number of aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) sublayers, n > 0 being an integer, each AlGaAs layer being sandwiched between two adjacent GaAs layers.

[0040] In some embodiments, the converter layer includes a multi-input electrical power converter having a solar input converter, a battery input converter, and an output converter.

[0041] In some embodiments, at least one of the solar input converter, the battery input converter, and the output converter includes a coil wound around a ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic core.

[0042] In some embodiments, at least one of the solar input converter, the battery input converter, and the output converter includes a core layer made of a ferrite material and sandwiched between two wiring layers; each of the wiring layers includes conductive wiring on a substrate; and the wirings of the two wiring layers are interconnected by one or more vias therethrough to form a coil wound around the ferrite core. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0043] Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the following drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout, and wherein:

[0044] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a prior art solar harvesting system connected to a load and / or an alternating current (AC) utility grid, the solar harvesting system having solar panels for harvesting solar energy;

[0045] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing a prior art solar harvesting system connected to a load and / or connected to an AC utility grid, the solar harvesting system having solar panels and energy storage;

[0046] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing a prior art solar harvesting system connected to a load and / or a direct current (DC) utility grid, the solar harvesting system having solar panels and energy storage;

[0047] Figure 4 A solar harvesting system having a hybrid energy device and connected to a load and / or an AC utility grid, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0048] Figure 5 A solar harvesting system having a hybrid energy device and connected to a load and / or a DC utility grid, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0049] Figure 6A is a schematic diagram showing a hybrid energy device of a solar harvesting system, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 4 and Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing the physical structure of a hybrid energy device of a solar harvesting system, as shown in

[0050] Figure 6B is a schematic diagram showing a hybrid energy device of a solar harvesting system, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 4 and Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing the physical structure of a hybrid energy device of a solar harvesting system, as shown in

[0051] Figure 7A is a schematic diagram showing a solar cell layer and a substrate of a hybrid energy device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 6A and 6B is a schematic diagram showing a solar cell layer and a substrate of a hybrid energy device, as shown in

[0052] Figure 7B is a schematic diagram showing a solar cell layer and a substrate of a hybrid energy device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 6A and 6B is a schematic diagram showing a solar cell layer and a substrate of a hybrid energy device, as shown in

[0053] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing Figure 7BThe diagram shows multiple sublayers of a solar cell layer being printed on a substrate on a large scale to form multiple solar cells.

[0054] Figure 9 It means to Figure 6A and 6B A conceptual diagram showing the solar cell layer and energy storage layer of a hybrid energy device printed onto a substrate;

[0055] Figure 10 Show Figure 6B The structure of the supercapacitor shown is illustrated.

[0056] Figure 11A It is shown Figure 6A A schematic diagram of the battery cell structure of the energy storage layer of the hybrid energy device shown;

[0057] Figure 11B It is shown in the form of a lithium-ion battery cell. Figure 11A A schematic diagram of the structure of the battery cell shown;

[0058] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram showing two battery cells printed in series on top of each other, sharing a common current collector layer between them;

[0059] Figure 13 This demonstrates a template printing technique for fabricating battery cells using a cold manual laminator as a template printing device.

[0060] Figure 14 Showing the use Figure 13 The stencil printing technique shown (without any processing solvent) is used in the fabrication process of the anode sublayer on top of the aluminum current collector sublayer.

[0061] Figure 15 It is shown Figure 6A and 6B A schematic diagram showing details of the hybrid energy device;

[0062] Figure 16A and 16B It is a block diagram of a solar energy collection system with an integrated electric power converter for AC and DC applications;

[0063] Figure 17A yes Figure 16A , 16B The diagram shows the functional structure of an integrated power converter, which includes a solar input converter, a battery input converter, and an output converter.

[0064] Figure 17B It is shown Figure 17Aschematic diagram of the functional structure of the solar input converter, the battery input converter, and the output converter shown;

[0065] Figure 17C is Figure 16A and 16B circuit diagram of the integrated electrical power converter shown;

[0066] Figure 18A is a schematic diagram showing a portion of an integrated electrical power converter according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 16A and 16B schematic diagram of the physical implementation of the integrated electrical power converter shown;

[0067] Figure 18B is Figure 18A cross-sectional view of the integrated electrical power converter shown along section line A-A; and

[0068] Figure 18C is a schematic perspective view of a portion of an integrated electrical power converter according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 18A DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0069] Turning now to Figure 4 a solar energy harvesting system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown and generally identified using reference numeral 100. As shown, the solar energy harvesting system 100 includes a hybrid energy device 102 for powering a load 104.

[0070] The hybrid energy device 102 is also connected to an alternating current (AC) utility grid 106 through a switch 108. Thus, when the switch 108 is closed, the hybrid energy device 102 can output power to the AC utility grid 106 for powering various devices (not shown) electrically connected thereto, or for powering the load 104 using the AC utility grid 106 when the output of the hybrid energy device 102 is insufficient.

[0071] The hybrid energy device 102 in these embodiments includes a set of solar cells 112, such as a photovoltaic (PV) panel having a plurality of solar cells, for harvesting solar energy and acting as a first energy source, and an energy storage 114 as a second energy source. The solar cells 112 and the energy storage 114 output electrical power to a multiple-input electrical power converter 116. The multiple-input electrical power converter 116 converts the received electrical power into a suitable form (e.g., having a suitable voltage, current, frequency, phase, and / or the like) for powering the load 104 and / or outputting to the AC utility grid 106, and uses the output of the solar cells 112 to charge the energy storage 114. In addition, the multiple-input electrical power converter 116 controls the flow of power between the different components.

[0072] ​Figure 5 A solar energy harvesting system 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In these embodiments, the solar energy harvesting system 100, in addition to the hybrid energy unit 102 being connected to the direct current (DC) utility grid 118, is... Figure 4 Similar to the example shown. The multi-input power converter 116 also controls the power flow between different components.

[0073] Including solar cell 112, energy storage 114 and multi-input power converter 116 Figure 4 and Figure 5 The hybrid energy device 102 shown is an integrated device that is printed, deposited, or otherwise coupled to a substrate, and may be implemented differently in different embodiments. Figure 6A and Figure 6B This is a schematic diagram showing the physical structure of a hybrid energy device 102 having various energy storage 114 in different embodiments.

[0074] exist Figure 6A In the illustrated embodiment, the hybrid energy device 102 includes a substrate 132 made of one or more suitable transparent or translucent materials, such as glass, transparent or translucent plastics, transparent or translucent polymers, etc. A solar cell layer 112 (also referred to as a "solar cell layer") is printed, deposited, or otherwise coupled to the substrate 132. Therefore, the transparent substrate 132 allows the solar cell layer 112 to be exposed to ambient light or intermittent light and provides support and protection for the solar cell layer 112 and other layers coupled thereto.

[0075] In these embodiments, energy storage 114 (also referred to as "energy storage layer") comprises layers of cell cells 136 printed, deposited, or otherwise coupled to solar cell layer 112. A circuit layer (referred to as "circuit layer") of multiple-input power converter 116 is coupled to energy storage layer 114. Figure 4 or Figure 5 The solar cell layer 112, the energy storage layer 114, and the circuit layer 116 are electrically connected (not shown).

[0076] Figure 6B The hybrid energy device 102 in the illustrated embodiment and Figure 6A Similar to those shown, except in these embodiments, the energy storage layer 114 includes one or more capacitors 138 or supercapacitors (i.e., capacitors with large capacity).

[0077] Figure 7Ais a schematic diagram showing a solar cell layer 112 on a substrate 132 made of a suitable rigid, transparent or semi-transparent material, such as glass. As shown, the solar cell layer 112 includes a plurality of sub-layers, such as an anode sub-layer 142 made of a suitable material, such as indium tin oxide (ITO) printed, deposited or otherwise coupled to the substrate 132, a zinc oxide (ZnO) 144 sub-layer, a poly(ethyleneimine) and poly(ethyleneimine) ethoxylated (i.e., PEIE) 146 sub-layer, an organic solar cell sub-layer 148, such as a sub-layer of a polymer solar cell, such as a bulk heterojunction (BHJ) sub-layer, a molybdenum trioxide (Mo03) 150 sub-layer, and a cathode oxide layer 152 made of a suitable material, such as silver (Ag) or aluminum (Al), starting from the substrate 132. The anode 142 and the cathode 152 are electrically connected to an upper layer, such as an energy storage layer 114 (i.e., a layer of a battery cell 136 or a capacitor 138) and / or an integrated converter layer 116.

[0078] Figure 7B is a schematic diagram showing a solar cell layer 112 on a substrate 132 made of a flexible, transparent or semi-transparent material, such as a transparent or semi-transparent plastic material, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET, also denoted as poly(ethylene terephthalate)), poly(ether sulfone) (PES), and the like. The solar cell layer 112 is the same as shown in Figure 7A .

[0079] A rigid substrate results in a rigid structure solar cell, while a flexible substrate results in a flexible solar cell structure. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a flexible substrate provides a number of advantages, such as:

[0080] 1) ease of use of large scale manufacturing techniques, such as roll-to-roll coating techniques for manufacturing the solar cell and stencil printing techniques for manufacturing the battery; and

[0081] 2) flexibility of the solar cell allows for simplification of the manufacturing process of all of its layers.

[0082] In some embodiments, the solar cell layer 112, the energy storage layer 114 (i.e., the battery layer 136 or the capacitor layer 138), and the integrated converter layer 116 can be printed in large scale.

[0083] Figure 8are schematic diagrams showing the above-described sub-layers 142-152 of the solar cell layer 112 printed in large scale on a substrate 132 to form a plurality of solar cells. First, the anode (ITO) sub-layer 142 is printed as a plurality of ITO blocks in a suitable pattern (e.g., a matrix form) onto the PET substrate 132. Then, a plurality of ZnO sub-layers 144 is printed on top of the ITO sub-layer, each ZnO block 144 being coupled to a plurality of adjacent ITO blocks 142 (e.g., ITO blocks 142) in adjacent rows, thereby forming a parallel structure. Then, the PEIE, BHJ, and Mo03sub-layers 146, 148, and 150 are printed as a plurality of blocks on top of each other in sequence. Each set of PEIE, BHJ, and Mo03sub-layers 146, 148, and 150 forms a solar cell (not counting the anode and cathode sub-layers) printed on the anode sub-layer 142.

[0084] The cathode (Ag or Al) sub-layer 152 is finally printed as a plurality of blocks onto the solar cells, each cathode block extending to the anode layer 142 of an adjacent solar cell, such that they are connected in series.

[0085] Figure 9 are conceptual diagrams showing the printing of some sub-layers (e.g., ZnO, PEIE, and BHJ sub-layers 144, 146, and 148) of the solar cell layer 112 onto the substrate 132. In these embodiments, the Mo03and Ag sub-layers 150 and 152 are deposited by using a thermal evaporator.

[0086] As shown in Figure 9 , the substrate 132 is arranged on a flat surface of a platform 172. A printing device (not shown) having a slot die 174 is used to print the sub-layers / layers. The slot die 174 includes cartridges 176 filled with respective "inks" and moves (indicated by arrow 178) over the substrate 132 (or printed layer) to deposit material from the cartridges 176 thereon to form the solar cell 112 or the energy storage layer 114 (i.e., the battery 136 and / or the capacitor 138, not shown). In particular, the solar cell is first printed onto the substrate 132 to form the solar cell layer 112, and then the energy storage layer 114 (i.e., the battery 136 and / or the capacitor 138) is printed onto the solar cell layer 112. Then, the multi-input electrical power converter 116 (in the form of a printed circuit board) is coupled to the energy storage layer 114.

[0087] Here, "ink" refers to a suitable form of sub-layer / layer material, e.g., a solution, a gel, or a powder, which is used as a precursor to manufacture the sub-layer / layer. For example, a ZnO ink dissolved in butanol can be deposited by slot die coating to form the ZnO sub-layer 144 of the solar cell layer 112. During the slot die manufacturing of each sub-layer, a heat treatment is typically used to evaporate the solvent or to melt the powder to solidify the manufactured sub-layer.

[0088] InFigure 6B In the illustrated embodiment, the supercapacitor 138 is used as the energy storage layer 114. Figure 10 The structure of the supercapacitor 138 is shown. As shown, the energy storage layer 114 or supercapacitor 138 includes a plurality of gallium arsenide (GaAs) / aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) sub-layers, for example, n AlGaAs layers (n > 0 is an integer) and (n + 1) GaAs layers, each AlGaAs layer sandwiched between two adjacent GaAs layers, thereby forming a plurality of semiconductor capacitors.

[0089] Each GaAs or AlGaAs sub-layer can be deposited by using suitable techniques, for example, DC sputtering, radio frequency (RF) sputtering, thermal evaporation, and / or similar techniques.

[0090] Figure 11A is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the battery cell 136 of the energy storage layer 114 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6a. As shown, each battery cell 136 includes a plurality of sub-layers, including a pair of current collector sub-layers 202 and 210 coupled to an anode sub-layer 204 and a cathode sub-layer 208, respectively, and a solid-state electrolyte sub-layer 206 sandwiched between the anode sub-layer 204 and the cathode sub-layer 208.

[0091] Current flows through the current collector sub-layer 202, the anode sub-layer 204, the solid-state electrolyte sub-layer 206, the cathode sub-layer 208, and the current collector sub-layer 210. The anode sub-layer 204 is a negative electrode or reduction electrode that releases electrons to an external circuit and is oxidized during an electrochemical reaction. The cathode sub-layer 208 is a positive electrode or oxidation electrode that obtains electrons from an external circuit and is reduced during an electrochemical reaction.

[0092] The solid-state electrolyte sub-layer 206 is a medium that provides an ionic transport mechanism between the cathode 208 and the anode 204 of the battery cell 136. In contrast to liquid-state electrolytes that contain dissolved salts, acids, or bases for ionic conduction and are typically flammable, solid-state electrolytes are safer, and the resulting battery assembly can be more compact because fewer safety monitoring and / or safety precaution components and / or subsystems are needed. Batteries using solid-state electrolytes also provide improved energy and power densities.

[0093] Figure 11B is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the battery cell 136 in the form of a lithium-ion battery cell. In this embodiment, the current collector sub-layers 202, 210 are thin layers of aluminum foil, the anode sub-layer 204 includes activated Li4Ti50i2Oi2with carbon (including single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and carbon powder; described in more detail below) and a semi-interpenetrating polymer network (SIPN or semi-IPN) backbone, and the cathode sub-layer 208 includes LiFeP04with carbon (including SWCNTs and carbon powder; described in more detail below) and a SIPN backbone. 12(LTO), the cathode sub-layer 208 includes activated LiCo02(i.e., lithium cobalt oxide or LCO) with carbon (including SWCNT and carbon powder; described in more detail below) and a semi-IPN backbone, and the solid-state electrolyte sub-layer 206 includes LiBRF4with AI2O3and a semi-IPN backbone.

[0094] The semi-IPN backbone is a UV-cured polymer consisting of ethoxylated trimethylolpropane triacrylate (i.e., ETPTA) with 1.0 weight percent (wt%) of 2-hydroxy-2-methylpropiophenone (HMPP) as a photoinitiator, and HFP at 6 mole percent (mol%) of poly(vinylidene-co-hexafluoropropylene) (i.e., PVdF-HFP), and the weight ratio of ETPTA / PVdF-HFP is 75 / 25 (w / w). The semi-IPN backbone acts as a binder for other materials in the electrode and electrolyte.

[0095] To improve the electrical conductivity of LCO and LTO, SWCNTs are coated on the electrode active LCO or LTO powder (e.g., nanoparticles). Specifically, the LCO or LTO powder is added into a SWCNT-suspension (LCO / SWCNT at 99.75 / 0.25 w / w, LTO / SWCNT at 99.35 / 0.65 w / w) and mixed. The mixed solution is then filtered to obtain a solid, which is washed and dried to obtain SWCNT-coated LCO (i.e., activated LCO) or SWCNT-coated LTO (i.e., activated LTO).

[0096] Then, an electrode paste for manufacturing the cathode sub-layer 208 is formed by mixing the SWCNT-coated LCO nanoparticles with carbon black (i.e., carbon powder) and the semi-IPN backbone (at a ratio of 55 / 6 / 39 w / w / w). Then, an electrode paste for manufacturing the anode sub-layer 204 is formed by mixing the SWCNT-coated LTO nanoparticles with carbon black (i.e., carbon powder) and the semi-IPN backbone (at a ratio of 30 / 7 / 63 w / w / w). Here, the carbon black is used to increase the electrical conductivity of the electrode.

[0097] The solid-state electrolyte sub-layer 206 includes 1 mole per liter (M) LiBF4in a ratio of 85 / 15 w / w of succinonitrile (SBN) and the semi-IPN backbone, which is then mixed with AI2O3(approximately 300 M) at a ratio of 60 / 40 w / w of the agglomerate. The AI2O3is used as a separator to prevent any short circuiting of the electrode.

[0098] Figure 12is a schematic diagram showing two battery cells 136 printed on top of each other in series and sharing a common current collector sub-layer (denoted as 202 / 210) between them. Each battery cell 136 has an output voltage of a Volts (V) and the combined voltage of the two battery cells 136 is 2a V.

[0099] Figure 13 A stencil printing technique for fabricating battery cells 136 by using a cold manual laminator as a stencil printer device is shown. Specifically, a pair of rollers 222 are rotated to apply pressure to a hybrid energy device (identified with reference numeral 102'; on which the substrate 132 and the solar cell layer 112 are printed) to be fabricated as shown by arrow 228 which is fed to the rollers 222. The hybrid energy device 102' is supplied with a copper mask (not shown) overlaid on it. Then, a gel or paste of the above-mentioned materials with the respective ones of the sub-layers 204 to 208 is applied to the masked hybrid energy device 102'. Upon passing through the rollers 222, a thin layer 230 (thickness of about 100 μιη) of the gel is thus printed or coated onto the masked hybrid energy device 102'.

[0100] Figure 14 A fabrication process of the anode sub-layer 204 on the aluminum current collector sub-layer 202 using the above-mentioned stencil printing technique without using any processing solvents is shown. As shown, the LTO anode paste 252 is coated onto the fed hybrid energy device 102' with the aluminum current collector sub-layer 202 (not shown), the rotating rollers 222 apply pressure to the anode paste 252 passing through them to form a thin LTO film 204 which is then exposed to UV irradiation 254 (irradiation peak intensity of about 2000 mW.cm -2 for 30 seconds) from a Hg UV lamp 256 to cure and form the printed LTO anode sub-layer 204.

[0101] The hybrid energy device 102' can then be masked and coated with an electrolyte paste and passed through the rollers 222 in a stencil printing and UV curing process similar to that described above to print the solid-state electrolyte sub-layer 206 on the anode sub-layer 204. The cathode sub-layer 208 can then be fabricated by printing a cathode paste onto the solid-state electrolyte sub-layer 206 of the hybrid energy device 102' and curing by UV irradiation. After placing the Al current collector sub-layer 210 on top of the printed cathode sub-layer 208, a seamlessly integrated all-solid-state battery cell layer 136 is obtained which can be a single all-battery cell, i.e. an entire battery layer 136 including a single battery cell.

[0102] The above-mentioned process can be repeated to print another battery cell layer 136 on top, resulting in a printed bipolar battery cell 136.

[0103] In some embodiments, such as Figure 9 The printing apparatus shown above, with a slotting head 174, can be used to print sub-layers of the battery cell 136. In these embodiments, the specific head 174 can be used to print all sub-layers of the solid-state battery cell 136 using slotting coating. However, mold printing (see...) Figure 13 It is easier to use with high-viscosity inks. Furthermore, it eliminates the need for coating thin (i.e., nm-scale) layers to fabricate the cells disclosed herein. The sublayers of cell 136 can have relatively large thicknesses in the micrometer range, which can be easily achieved using stencil printing.

[0104] Figure 15 Details of the hybrid energy device 102 are shown. In this example, the energy storage layer 114 is a supercapacitor layer comprising multiple GaAs / AlGaAs sublayers 138 forming multiple semiconductor capacitors as described above.

[0105] In some embodiments, the multiple-input power converter 116 may be an integrated power converter that may be printed, deposited, or otherwise integrated into the battery cell layer 136 (see [link]). Figure 6A and 6B ).exist Figure 16A and 16B Block diagrams of integrated power converters are shown, illustrating a solar energy collection system 100 with an integrated power converter 116 for AC and DC applications.

[0106] Figure 17A This is a block diagram of an integrated power converter 116. As shown, the integrated power converter 116 includes a solar input converter 284 that receives the output of a solar cell layer 112 at a solar input 282 and converts the solar input 282 into a first intermediate form (voltage, current, frequency, phase, and / or similar) for output to an output converter 288. The integrated power converter 116 also includes a battery input converter 286 that receives the output of an energy storage layer 114 at a battery input 290 and converts the battery input 290 into a second intermediate form (voltage, current, frequency, phase, and / or similar) for output to the output converter 288. The output converter 288 receives and combines the electrical outputs from the solar input converter 284 and the battery input converter 286, and converts the combined electrical energy into a suitable form (voltage, current, frequency, phase, and / or similar) for output (292) to a load and / or a utility grid (not shown).

[0107] In these embodiments, the solar input converter 284, the battery input converter 286, and the output converter 288 are high-frequency circuits and have, for example, Figure 17BThe illustrated similar functional structure. As can be seen, each of the converters 284, 286, and 288 includes a power circuit 312 for receiving an electrical input. The power circuit 312 is coupled to a drive circuit 314 to output electricity. A control and sensing module 316 is coupled to the drive circuit 314 for controlling the electrical output and for balancing between the solar input 282 and the battery input 290.

[0108] Figure 17C is a circuit diagram of the integrated electrical power converter 116. As shown, the solar input converter 284, the battery input converter 286, and the output converter 288 are electrically coupled through a transformer 322 having a ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic core.

[0109] As Figures 18A to 18C shown, in some embodiments, the integrated electrical power converter 116 can be formed from printed circuits on a plurality of flexible printed circuit boards (PCBs) 330.

[0110] In these embodiments, the integrated electrical power converter 116 is implemented as an integrated circuit (IC) chip and includes a core layer 334 made of a ferrite material, thereby forming a ferrite core. The ferrite core 334 is sandwiched between two silicon-based wiring layers 330. Figure 18C is a schematic perspective view of a portion of the integrated electrical power converter 116. For ease of illustration, the structure of the integrated electrical power converter 116 is shown with gaps between the ferrite core 334 and the wiring layers 330. However, one skilled in the art will appreciate that these gaps are for illustration purposes only and that an actual integrated electrical power converter 116 can not have any gaps between the ferrite core 334 and the wiring layers 330. For example, the ferrite core 334 can be printed, deposited, or otherwise integrated into either of the wiring layers 330.

[0111] The ferrite core 334 includes three ferrite rings 336A, 336B, and 336C for acting as the magnetic core of the inductors Ls of the solar input, battery input, and output converters 284, 286, and 288, respectively.

[0112] Electrically conductive wiring 332, including 332A, 332B, and 33C, is distributed across the wiring layers 330 and connects the solar input, battery input, and output converters 284, 286, and 288. As Figure 18B and 18C shown, the electrically conductive wiring 332 on the opposing wiring layers 330 is connected through vias 342 (electrically conductive holes in the wiring layers 330) and is wound around the ferrite core 334.

[0113] In some embodiments, the integrated electrical power converter 116 is implemented as a circuit board having two wiring layers 330 made of flexible PCBs and with the ferrite core 334 integrated in a similar fashion as the ferrite core 334 of the integrated electrical power converter 116 of FIG. 3.Figures 18A to 18C The core 334 is constructed in the manner shown. The conductive traces 332, including 332A, 332B, and 33C, are made from etched conductive layers on flexible PCBs 330. Opposing conductive traces 332 on the flexible PCBs 330 are connected by vias 342 and wrapped around the ferrite core 334.

[0114] Although in the above-described embodiments, the solar cell layer 112 includes both a ZnO sublayer 144 and a PEIE sublayer 146, in some alternative embodiments, the solar cell layer 112 can include only a ZnO sublayer 144 or a PEIE sublayer 146. However, the performance of the solar cell layer 112 in these embodiments can be reduced.

[0115] Although embodiments have been described above with reference to the drawings, it will be appreciated that changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A multi-layer energy device, comprising: a transparent or translucent substrate; a solar cell layer coupled to the substrate, the solar cell layer comprising a plurality of solar cells for receiving light through the substrate and converting energy of the received light into a first electrical energy; an energy storage layer coupled to the solar cell layer, the energy storage layer comprising one or more energy storage units for storing a second electrical energy; and a converter layer comprising, in a single layer, a solar input converter electrically connected to the solar cell layer, a battery input converter electrically connected to the energy storage layer, and an output converter for receiving the first electrical energy and the second electrical energy and converting the first electrical energy and the second electrical energy into a third electrical energy, wherein the solar input converter, the battery input converter, and the output converter are coupled to a ferrite core having a first ferrite ring, a second ferrite ring, and a third ferrite ring, each of the first ferrite ring and the second ferrite ring sharing a portion of the third ferrite ring; and wherein the solar input converter comprises a coil around the first ferrite ring, the battery input converter comprises a coil around the second ferrite ring, and the output converter comprises a coil around the third ferrite ring. The substrate comprises a glass layer.

2. The multi-layer energy device of claim 1, wherein, The substrate comprises a flexible, transparent, or translucent material.

3. The multi-layer energy device of claim 1, wherein, The substrate comprises a transparent or translucent plastic material.

4. The multi-layer energy device of claim 1, wherein, The substrate comprises at least one of polyethylene terephthalate and polyethersulfone.

5. The multi-layer energy device of claim 1, wherein, The solar cell layer is printed or deposited onto the substrate.

6. The multi-layer energy device of claim 1, wherein, The energy storage layer is printed or deposited onto the solar cell layer.

7. The multi-layer energy device of claim 1, wherein, The solar cell layer comprises:

8. The multi-layer energy device of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein, an anode sublayer coupled to the substrate; a zinc oxide sublayer coupled to the anode sublayer; a polyethyleneimine and polyethyleneimine ethoxylated sublayer coupled to the zinc oxide sublayer; an organic solar cell sublayer coupled to the polyethyleneimine and polyethyleneimine ethoxylated sublayer; a molybdenum trioxide sublayer coupled to the solar cell sublayer; and a cathode sublayer coupled to the molybdenum trioxide sublayer. The anode sublayer comprises indium tin oxide.

9. The multi-layer energy device of claim 8, wherein, The cathode sublayer comprises silver or aluminum.

10. The multi-layer energy device of claim 8, wherein, The solar cell sublayer comprises a polymer solar cell.

11. The multi-layer energy device of claim 8, wherein, The solar cell sublayer comprises a bulk heterojunction sublayer.

12. The multi-layer energy device of claim 8, wherein, The energy storage layer comprises at least one of one or more battery cells and one or more semiconductor capacitors.

13. The multi-layer energy device of claim 8, wherein, Each of the one or more battery cells comprises:

14. The multi-layer energy device of claim 13, wherein, a first current collector sublayer; an anode sublayer coupled to the first current collector sublayer; a solid state electrolyte sublayer coupled to the anode sublayer; a cathode sublayer coupled to the solid state electrolyte sublayer; and a second current collector sublayer coupled to the cathode sublayer. At least one of the first current collector sublayer and the second current collector sublayer comprises aluminum.

15. The multi-layer energy device of claim 14, wherein, The solid state electrolyte sublayer comprises LiBrF4 with Al2O3 and a first semi-interpenetrating polymer network skeletal material.

16. The multi-layer energy device of claim 14, wherein, ​ 17. The multi-layer energy device of claim 14, wherein, The solid-state electrolyte sublayer is made from 1 mole per liter of LiBF4 in decanedinitrile and a first semi-interpenetrating polymer network skeletal material in a weight ratio of 85 / 15 mixed with 300 moles per liter of Al2O3 in a ratio of 60 / 40 by weight.

18. The multi-layer energy device of claim 14, wherein, The anode sublayer of the one or more battery cells includes an activated Li4Ti5O12 12 .

19. The multi-layer energy device of claim 14, wherein, The cathode sublayer of the one or more battery cells includes activated LiCoO2 having a second carbon material and a third semi-interpenetrating polymer network skeletal material.

20. The multi-layer energy device of claim 19, wherein, The second carbon material includes at least one of single-walled carbon nanotubes and carbon powder.

21. The multi-layer energy device of claim 18, wherein, The first carbon material includes at least one of single-walled carbon nanotubes and carbon powder.

22. The multi-layer energy device of claim 18, wherein, The activated Li4Ti5O 12 is a Li4Ti5O 12 coated with single-walled carbon nanotubes.

23. The multi-layer energy device of claim 19, wherein, The activated LiCoO2 is single-walled carbon nanotube coated LiCoO2.

24. The multi-layer energy device of claim 17, wherein, The first semi-interpenetrating polymer network skeletal material includes an ultraviolet light cured polymer.

25. The multi-layer energy device of claim 24, wherein, The ultraviolet light cured polymer includes ethoxylated trimethylolpropane triacrylate incorporating 1.0 weight percent 2-hydroxy-2-methylpropiophenone and poly(vinylidene-co-hexafluoropropylene) having 6 mole percent HFP in a weight ratio of 75 / 25 ethoxylated trimethylolpropane triacrylate / poly(vinylidene-co-hexafluoropropylene).

26. The multi-layer energy device of claim 13, wherein, Each of the one or more semiconductor capacitors includes n gallium arsenide sublayers interleaved with (n+1) aluminum gallium arsenide sublayers, n > 0 being an integer, each aluminum gallium arsenide sublayer being sandwiched between two adjacent gallium arsenide sublayers.

27. The multi-layer energy device of claim 1, wherein, The ferrite core forms a core layer sandwiched between two wiring layers; wherein each of the wiring layers includes conductive wiring on a substrate; wherein the conductive wiring forms coils of the solar input converter, battery input converter, and output converter; and wherein the wiring of the two wiring layers are interconnected by one or more vias therethrough.

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