Technological Mapping of the Photovoltaic Solar Energy Industry by Patent Documents Deposited in Brazil

Photovoltaic solar energy is a renewable form of electricity obtained directly from solar radiation using a semiconductor device called a photovoltaic cell. This article aims to map and identify the main characters and the evolution of the technological challenges presented by the technologies involving photovoltaic solar energy by monitoring patent documents filed between 2003 and 2011. Making it possible for the public to ensure, in practice, the way the "expertise" obtained from the technical information in documents can aggregate knowledge of a technological standpoint, applied to the photovoltaic solar energy field. So, the study methodology uses the analysis of patent applications filed in the Brazilian office extracted from PatBase ® (Minesoft) ® . The main areas are: (a) semiconductor devices sensitive to infra-red radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength, and others; (b) assemblies consisting of a plurality of individual semiconductor or other solid state devices; and, (c) coating by vacuum evaporation, by sputtering or by ion implantation of the coating forming material. This sector is highly influenced by governmental politics such as The Brazilian Normative Resolution 482 of the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) and The Green Patents Program of The Brazilian National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI).