That article is actually where I started my research! Unfortunately it seems that George Cove exaggerated many of his claims about his panels, including their efficiency. For example, I was unable to observe any photovoltaic effect in zinc antimonide, contrary to what the article claims. Furthermore, the number of junctions in his panels is what you'd expect from a purely thermoelectric device. Pretty disappointing.
Low-tech solar power! Not very efficient, but very interesting.
Your project seems to have some parallels with this forgotten solar panel : https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2021/10/how-to-build-a-low-tech-solar-panel/
That article is actually where I started my research! Unfortunately it seems that George Cove exaggerated many of his claims about his panels, including their efficiency. For example, I was unable to observe any photovoltaic effect in zinc antimonide, contrary to what the article claims. Furthermore, the number of junctions in his panels is what you'd expect from a purely thermoelectric device. Pretty disappointing.