SunPartner Technologies has developed a technology that it calls “Wysips” that consists of a transparent solar cell technology, together with the related optical stack and semiconductor know how. The company sees applications in “smart surfaces” but in particular is interested in the use of the cells in wearables and other low power applications (including electronic shelf labels). Putting the solar cell on top of the display can mean gradual trickle charging of battery devices.
The company pointed out that the surface can be designed to be bigger than the display itself, which would help to boost the level of power available, which is typically around 4mW. The cell is not so useful for devices such as smartphones which have a high level of power consumption, but is better for devices, such as wearables, that can already operate for days or weeks on a single charge.
A range of different transparencies is supported, depending on the application – for example, with a reflective display, transparency would be as high as possible. The company is working with Kyocera on a 5″ FullHD rugged smartphone that uses the solar cell technology.
