The aim of this research project was to develop a novel effective lifetime measurement system to investigate recombination processes, mainly in the silicon bulk, at wafer surfaces and at silicon-metal interfaces, over a wide range of temperatures.
Report extract
The improvement of solar cell efficiency requires the ability to identify and quantify loss mechanisms, many of which are recombination related.
Effective lifetime measurements are widely used to characterise recombination; however, commercially-available systems are relatively basic and provide only part of the obtainable information. For example, most of the commercially available systems do not support temperature dependent measurements and are limited to room-temperature operation, despite the fact the valuable recombination-related information can be only obtained by lifetime measurements performed at different temperatures (and light-intensities). Furthermore, measurement at room temperature does not represent the field-operation conditions of most solar cells (such as those installed in the Australian deserts).
The aim of this research project was to develop a novel effective lifetime measurement system to investigate recombination processes, mainly in the silicon bulk, at wafer surfaces and at silicon-metal interfaces, over a wide range of temperatures.
The developed system is considered one of the best systems in the world and it has been heavily used by Australian researchers, but also by international visitors (from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Arizona State University and the University of Agder), to investigate defects in silicon.
The knowledge gained during the project led to development of other novel characterisation methods for photovoltaic modules and for a new type of solar cells (perovskite-based).