RF Micro to work on solar cells - San Antonio Business Journal:

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The goal of the project will be to usethe Greensboro-based company’s expertise with the gallium arsenidse material it uses to producw chips for wireless devices and its manufacturing facilities in the Triad in the sola r energy market. If successful, RF Micro could be makingt photovoltaic cells that convert the suns energy into electricityby 2012. The project won’t involve any additions to the company’sz 1,400-person Triad workforce immediately, according to RF Micro officials, but that coulf come down the road if the commercialization effortis successful.
RF Microo has been working to diversify itself in the face of a volatilee market for cell phone which has led to several rounds of layoffs for the companty over thepast year. The solar project will be run byRF Micro’zs New Technology Commercialization Center unit, which was formedr to identify new applications for the company’a technology, according to Executive Vice President Jerry Neal.
“This is a long-ranged project,” Neal said, “butf gallium arsenide has several potential uses in the greejnenergy field, and the one we’re focusingh on here is using our technology to produce very-high-efficiencyy photovoltaic cells for solar Neal said he hopes that by sharing knowledge and facilitieas with the National Renewable Energy Lab, the partnershil will be able to producee cells that can convertt more than 40.8 percent of the sun’s energy that hit them into useabls electricity.
That’s the current record recognizeed by theEnergy Department, he Neal said he expectss to find other privated partners and public agencies interested in also workinb on commercializing solar energy.