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coillah

Thu Sept 08 2011, 05:28PM

Registered Member #1517 Joined: Wed Jun 04 2008, 06:55AM
Location: Chico CA
Posts: 304

Hi guys,

I was recently laid off from Solyndra. I started working there immediately after I graduated last spring. I was hired as an equipment engineer for the thermal evaporation systems for CIGS materials. They recruited me for a year before I graduated when they learned about my senior project which was building a small scale thermal evaporation chamber.

I am looking for a job in the silicon foundries industry as an equipment engineer. I'd like to start working on PECVD or sputter systems given my experience here. Please let me know if you know anyone or have any leads for me.

Thanks for your help!
-Alex

Thomas W

Thu Sept 08 2011, 05:45PM

Registered Member #3324 Joined: Sun Oct 17 2010, 06:57PM
Location:
Posts: 1276

bad luck loosing your job
Good luck getting a new one :D

wish you the best ;D
Tom

Patrick

Fri Sept 09 2011, 09:21AM

Registered Member #2431 Joined: Tue Oct 13 2009, 09:47PM
Location: Chico, CA. USA
Posts: 5639

coillah wrote ...

Hi guys,

I was recently laid off from Solyndra. I
-Alex

Ah--Dam.

If you arent on LinkedIn.com yet, you should be. That will make a difference in getting leads. well have to "first each other", ill PM you later, GTG ... I need to get my math homework done.

i have a family member who worked there for more than 2 years. phone call in the morning, jobs are gone.

You and i collaborated here on the forum, If you have a senior project its significance should be visible on your LinkedIn.com page.

i dont have my degree yet , but in this job market im just getting more depressed.

Conundrum

Fri Sept 09 2011, 09:58PM

Registered Member #96 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:37PM
Location: CI, Earth
Posts: 4061

Ouch, being laid off sucks.

You'd think that a renewable energy company would be somewhat immune to the economic downturn but evidently not.

-A

Ash Small

Fri Sept 09 2011, 10:26PM

Registered Member #3414 Joined: Sun Nov 14 2010, 05:05PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4245

I seem to remember reading somewhere (maybe Wikipedia) that their product was 'only' around 19% efficient, while there are cheaper products that are 24% efficient.

I've no idea if this is true, though.

Conundrum

Fri Sept 09 2011, 10:37PM

Registered Member #96 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:37PM
Location: CI, Earth
Posts: 4061

Thats still a lot better than conventional PV cells.

Come to think of it, coating the cells directly onto a metal car roof (?!) ought to work, the idea being that instead of running all the cells in series you have a bunch of cells with separate anodes then feed the output from each cell to its own voltage converter so that the output is stable.

Has the advantage that if any one part fails then the penalty is only reduced output current.

-A

Ash Small

Sat Sept 10 2011, 12:20PM

Registered Member #3414 Joined: Sun Nov 14 2010, 05:05PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4245

Conundrum wrote ...

Thats still a lot better than conventional PV cells.

Come to think of it, coating the cells directly onto a metal car roof (?!) ought to work, the idea being that instead of running all the cells in series you have a bunch of cells with separate anodes then feed the output from each cell to its own voltage converter so that the output is stable.

Has the advantage that if any one part fails then the penalty is only reduced output current.

-A

Maybe those figures aren't exact, but that was the gist of what I read.

Ten years or so ago I was considering buying an 'abandoned project' consisting of a 'large' catamaran that was originally designed to be completely covered in solar panels, with an electric motor and batteries in each keel.

It looked like a large, wide, sailing catamaran, but with no provision for mast or sails. I was considering just dropping a couple of small diesels in it. but the original concept was pretty cool.

EDIT: I think the original intention was a non-stop round the world record attempt for a motor powered vessel.

coillah

Mon Sept 12 2011, 09:54PM

Registered Member #1517 Joined: Wed Jun 04 2008, 06:55AM
Location: Chico CA
Posts: 304

Ash Small wrote ...

I seem to remember reading somewhere (maybe Wikipedia) that their product was 'only' around 19% efficient, while there are cheaper products that are 24% efficient.

I've no idea if this is true, though.

I believe you are thinking of the standard champions of NREL that achieve extremely high efficiencies in the lab.

So there are some problems with taking what you might see as a lab efficiency and applying it to what is commercially viable. You might read in a tech article that some solar cell was made with a 29% efficiency but you can't make things on a large scale with that sort of efficiency quite yet. The scale has a huge effect on the consistency.

While I can't say exactly what the efficiency of the cells were I can say that when we stopped we were still trying to match NREL's best cell of 4 years ago.

Soly's benefit wasn't really having a high efficiency cell but rather by making the installation and operation of the PV system cheaper and easier. You can literally set the panel down on top of a roof without worrying about mounting it to the roof or weighing it down or anything.

Ash Small

Tue Sept 13 2011, 12:35AM

Registered Member #3414 Joined: Sun Nov 14 2010, 05:05PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4245

Sounds similar to a lot of other stories, Higher costs compared to the competition, but the competition have 'hidden costs' (installation, etc.)

Also sounds like a management 'f%&k up', take the government sponsored incentives, bank them, then collapse.

(I'll try and find the link to the article later)

(Not sure if I should post after I've had a drink or three, but no-one has complained yet)

EDIT: I could suggest a couple of places here, but I assume you'd rather remain in California than 'cross the pond'.)

coillah

Wed Dec 14 2011, 06:59AM

Registered Member #1517 Joined: Wed Jun 04 2008, 06:55AM
Location: Chico CA
Posts: 304

UPDATE: Well everything turned out better than expected. After looking for a job pretty consistently for a while I resigned to maybe reapplying to grad. school. Then out of nowhere I got a callback from Maxim IC, for an equipment engineering position. I did the interview and was just about to get my offer when SLAC calls me up! I do an interview there and they liked me. A week later I had an offer, and the next week I started working there! So happy ending, I got a kickass job at a science lab.

I have been working at SLAC for three weeks now. It's pretty awesome!

Cheers!

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