Why thinking small can yield big returns.
Lori A. Burkhart is Fortnightly’s managing editor.
Fortnightly: How does nanotechnology improve utility-scale solar technology options on the market today?
Splinter, Applied Materials: Applied Materials’ core capabilities relate to thin-film engineering: Depositing thin films, etching them, polishing them, measuring them and even manipulating them one atomic layer at a time. Nanomanufacturing is a branch of nanotechnology and involves turning incredible science into high-volume production. We have 40 years of nanomanufacturing experience in the semiconductor industry, flat panel display and more recently in solar photovoltaics (PV). During this time, we have worked closely with customers to bring scale to these industries. It is scale that has driven the phenomenal cost reductions that made advanced electronics affordable and accessible in turn changing the way people live, work and communicate. Solar PV has the potential to have an even greater global impact and the technology is viable now. What is needed is the expertise, passion and political will to create the scale that will make the solar power mainstream, affordable, and self-sustaining.
Fortnightly: What utility-scale projects is your company presently involved with?