Clean Energy Capability Portfolio | Renewable Generation |
Carrier Selective Contacts for Silicon
Solar Cells
Investigating a wide range of passivating contacts that selectively extract holes and electrons , and reduce surface recombination in industrial silicon solar cells , to mitigate contact recombination losses and improve efficiency . |
Competitive Advantage • Australian-based laboratory featuring an atomic layer deposition reactor with real-time feedback on synthesised material – offers an unprecedented advantage in terms of process optimisation and device integration
• Cutting-edge device optimisation informed by a high-level understanding of device fundamentals
• Utilise an advanced , computational material science approach to identify the most promising materials before synthesising them
• Able to perform atomic-scale engineering using atomic layer deposition
• Real-time insight and control of thin film growth and its correlation to final device performance
Impact • A process to lower the contact resistance of screenprinted contacts was successfully transferred to high-volume manufacturing in less than two years after the first demonstration at a laboratory scale
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Capabilities and Facilities • Both laboratory-scale and pilot-scale atomic layer deposition reactors to explore novel processes from low- to high-technology readiness level
• Access to both lab-scale and pilot-scale thin film deposition equipment for swift transfer from the laboratory to the factory
Our Collaborators • Leadmicro
More Information Professor Bram Hoex
School of Photovoltaics and Renewable Energy Engineering
T : + 61 2 9385 7934
E : b . hoex @ unsw . edu . au
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Successful Applications |
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• Demonstrated that the contact resistance of screenprinted contacts could be lowered by the application of nanoscale aluminium oxide films |
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• Showed that the electronic properties of nanoscale nickel oxide could be changed by doping |
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• Developed a low-cost method for growing tunnelling oxides for poly-silicon contacts , which can easily be integrated into PECVD and PVD equipment |
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