# [Photovoltaics for Synkarya] Design thinking

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:bulb: The first question to answer is how do we design self-replicating solar panels?

The initial proposal is developed on a copper and zinc oxide photovoltaic cell.

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## :beginner: Project status

- Chemistry: Cu ZnO
- Status:
- [x] In progress
- [ ] In review. Reviewer:
- [ ] Finished

- Manufacture: 3D printing and electroplating
- Status:
- [x] In progress
- [ ] In review. Reviewer:
- [ ] Finished

## :triangular_flag_on_post: Problem space

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Building a solar panel is easy peasy. Building one that could "in principle" self replicate is really hard.
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## 📈 Solution space

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Collect ideas that may solve the problems here.
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Principles:
- Simplified design, even at the cost of efficiency, allows for better evolutionary mechanics.
- Additive manufacturing allows for easier recycling and better efficiency of primary resources. In biology there are far fewer examples of subtractive manufacturing than additive.

Processes:
- Fixing Zinc. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/matertrans/51/8/51_M2010045/_pdf
Zinc sulfide is a super promising material for potential use in quantum dots and as a semiconductor that can be both n and p doped. Here it is milled out of ore and roasted to produce zinc oxide. This is made into a paste.
- Fixing Copper.
https://patents.google.com/patent/US1949928 This lapsed patent turns copper into copper sulfate. It does so from alloys and mixed metals meaning that it not only fixes copper from the soil, but from recycled materials too.
- https://projectquine.substack.com/p/the-printn-plate-series Project Quine aims to build self replicating 3D printers. As such they have developed a purly additive method for printing PCBs. Printing conductive plastics does not give you a wire, but a resistor, however, when you put current through it, it can be electroplated. For this one would need a copper sulfate solution. See fixing copper

## :exclamation: Risks

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"Greedy design"
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A simple photovoltaic cell might require simple chemistry which might require complex machinary. This is the risk to any particular approach. We will only know the true cost of the process once we have built it end to end. I can't figure out a better approach that just "screw it, let's do it". The machinary to heat and preasurize chemical processes will need to be manufactured too. At least the energy they require should be "in principle" supplied by this project. Hopefully when we design the storage systems for the photovoltaics we will need lithium (maybe) and steel and other things that half solve the machine input requirements for the chem eng parts. Then we will have cracked it big time.

## :feet: Implementation

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High level problems to solve for and processes to integrate.
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### :small_blue_diamond: Flow

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Self replicating photovoltaics: Sub-system one
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graph TD;
Fixing_Zinc-->Photovoltaic_Assembly;
Fixing_Copper-->Electroplating_PCB;
3D_printing_PCB-->Electroplating_PCB;
Electroplating_PCB-->Photovoltaic_Assembly;

### :small_blue_diamond: Specs

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To be determined
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## 💬 Open Questions

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The list is the most dynamic for this project and will change regularly,
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| Question | Answer |
| -------------------------------------------------- |:------:|
| 1. Can we procude non-carbateous chemisrty? | |
| 2. Can we cap the preassure and temperature needs? | |
| 3. How does production scale affect the process? | |