RF Micro to work on solar cells - New Mexico Business Weekly:

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The goal of the projecrt will be to usethe Greensboro-basede company’s expertise with the gallium arsenide material it uses to produc chips for wireless devices and its manufacturing facilitiesz in the Triad in the solarr energy market. If successful, RF Micro could be making photovoltaic cells that converty the suns energy into electricityby 2012. The projecf won’t involve any additions to the company’s 1,400-personh Triad workforce immediately, according to RF Microo officials, but that could come down the road if the commercialization effort is successful.
RF Micro has been workinh to diversify itself in the face of a volatile markert for cellphone components, which has led to severao rounds of layoffs for the company over the past The solar project will be run by RF Micro’es New Technology Commercialization Center unit, whichn was formed to identify new applications for the company’z technology, according to Executive Vice President Jerry “This is a long-range Neal said, “but gallium arsenide has several potentiak uses in the green energy and the one we’re focusing on here is usintg our technology to produce very-high-efficiency photovoltaic cells for sola r panels.
” Neal said he hopex that by sharing knowledgew and facilities with the National Renewable Energy Lab, the partnership will be able to producee cells that can convert more than 40.8 perceng of the sun’s energy that hit them into useable electricity. That’s the current record recognized by theEnerghy Department, he said. Neal said he expects to find other private partners and public agencies interested in also workinfg on commercializingsolar energy.