Ampulse Corp. has raised $8 million for developing solar thin films with crystalline silicon. But the question now is, does anyone need it?

The Golden, Colo.-based startup snagged the A round funding from
Globespan Capital Partners and El Dorado Ventures, Ampulse said Tuesday.

Founded in 2007, Ampulse licensed the technology from Oak Ridge
National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The
technology aims to marry the efficiency of crystalline silicon with the
flexibility and lower manufacturing cost of thin films. 

Most of the solar panels on the market today are composed of cells
that use crystalline silicon as the material for converting sunlight
into electricity.

An alternative to using silicon is a group of technologies that
deposit a thin layer of materials such as cadmium-telluride,
amorphous-silicon or copper-indium-gallium-selenide on glass, metal or
plastic. These thin film materials so far aren't as efficient at
producing electricity as crystalline silicon.

Ampulse was formed at a time when silicon was expensive and
investors poured lots