Sharp solar module takes cell phones to skinnier level

Sharp (OTC:SHCAY) says it has the industry’s thinnest new solar module, and it’s going mobile.

The Japanese giant introduced its new LR0GC02 solar module for mobile devices today that’s 0.8 millimeters thick and serves as an auxiliary power source to charge mobile devices.

The new technology uses compact semiconductor packaging to achieve the thinnest design in the industry. The solar cells, which make up the module, use polycrystalline silicon and deliver a maximum power of 300 milliwatts, according to a news release. The cell surface’s electrode pattern can meet device manufacturers’ requirements, leading to increased design flexibility for mobile devices.

The sample price is listed at ¥3,000 ($32), with samples available starting today. Mass production is expected to begin in July with 100,000 units per month.

Sharp isn’t the only tech heavyweight aggressively targeting this market. South Korea’s Samsung Electronics (KSE: 005930) and Seoul, Korea’s LG Electronics (KSE: 066570) also make solar-powered cell phones.

But Sharp still has a way to go in thinning its technology. University researchers in Japan and India developed a battery that uses nanotechnology to make it thinner than a piece of paper. The 0.001-millimeter thick, 5.2-volt batteries are expected to combine high energy density with thin-film technology. The resulting technology could be used to power cell phones, laptops or other devices (see India-Japan project develops paper-thin batteries).