Last Summer
Last Summer, I worked for Sencera, a company that makes plasma sources for liquid crystal displays and solar cell manufacturing. Recently, the company has shifted to focus on depositing amorphous silicon and nanocrystalline silicon for solar cells. The technology used has extremely high deposition rates while maintaining energy efficiency.
While I was there, I worked on fabricating a Beta type Stirling Cycle Engine, optimized for efficiency with an output goal of 1 kW. Our engine was based off a "free cylinder" design, where the piston was heavily weighted, and the casing oscillated about it. This would be ideal for use as a water pump in third world nations, but could also be used as an alternative means of power generation for an average suburban home.
