Minimising charge carrier recombination at silicon surfaces with improved dielectric coatings. The project will help to develop a vibrant PV industry in Australia, creating substantial employment opportunities. Spark Solar - one of the project partners - is the first dedicated PV manufacturer in Australia. There is a large and rapidly expanding overseas export market for solar panels. In addition, the large scale deployment of photovoltaic systems will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ....Minimising charge carrier recombination at silicon surfaces with improved dielectric coatings. The project will help to develop a vibrant PV industry in Australia, creating substantial employment opportunities. Spark Solar - one of the project partners - is the first dedicated PV manufacturer in Australia. There is a large and rapidly expanding overseas export market for solar panels. In addition, the large scale deployment of photovoltaic systems will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thus mitigate the magnitude and severity of the effects of global warming. Read moreRead less
New Directions in Silicon Solar Cell Technology. The fabrication of pure silicon is energy intensive, but solar cells can return 10 times more energy than is used to fabricate them. By investing in the development of silicon solar cells, Australia will develop a technology capable of encapsulating its vast coal resources within pure silicon. This has the potential to create an export market of clean energy and have an explosive effect on the growth of the local industry and skilled jobs.
Th ....New Directions in Silicon Solar Cell Technology. The fabrication of pure silicon is energy intensive, but solar cells can return 10 times more energy than is used to fabricate them. By investing in the development of silicon solar cells, Australia will develop a technology capable of encapsulating its vast coal resources within pure silicon. This has the potential to create an export market of clean energy and have an explosive effect on the growth of the local industry and skilled jobs.
This project will bolster the already prominent position of Australia in the field of photovoltaic solar energy by establishing collaborations with the top international organisations in the field. It will also coordinate efforts with all the main university research groups in the country. Read moreRead less
Overcoming performance limitations in multicrystalline silicon solar cells. This project aims to address the major impediments to improved efficiency of multicrystalline silicon solar cells, the most prevalent in industry today. Three key areas have been identified: understanding the fundamental source of carrier recombination in this material, the application of plasma silicon nitride to reducing this recombination, and developing a suitable technique for texturing the front surface of the cell ....Overcoming performance limitations in multicrystalline silicon solar cells. This project aims to address the major impediments to improved efficiency of multicrystalline silicon solar cells, the most prevalent in industry today. Three key areas have been identified: understanding the fundamental source of carrier recombination in this material, the application of plasma silicon nitride to reducing this recombination, and developing a suitable technique for texturing the front surface of the cells. By using novel, advanced techniques to gain a deeper physical understanding of these issues, it will be possible to develop new, cost-effective processes that improve efficiency and are applicable in industry.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882262
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$135,000.00
Summary
Photoluminescence imaging equipment for advanced silicon materials and solar cells. As the search for carbon-neutral sources of electricity intensifies during this century, an early lead in key technologies will be of great importance. Photovoltaics, in which Australian research is world-class, is clearly one such technology. The proposed equipment would enable Australia to maintain and extend its leading role in the development of silicon photovoltaics. As a result, it will help Australia take ....Photoluminescence imaging equipment for advanced silicon materials and solar cells. As the search for carbon-neutral sources of electricity intensifies during this century, an early lead in key technologies will be of great importance. Photovoltaics, in which Australian research is world-class, is clearly one such technology. The proposed equipment would enable Australia to maintain and extend its leading role in the development of silicon photovoltaics. As a result, it will help Australia take advantage of the growing global boom in solar energy. The proposal is likely to generate commercially valuable outcomes, as well as scientific knowledge of intrinsic value. It will also increase support for Australia's existing photovoltaic industry.Read moreRead less
Lifetime spectroscopy of impurities in silicon solar cells. This project aims to apply recently developed experimental techniques to the important problem of characterising impurities in silicon, with a strong focus on solar cell applications. These new spectroscopic techniques, which are based on carrier lifetime measurements, are more sensitive and less ambiguous than most existing methods. The results will have important implications for solar cell technologies in two independent ways - first ....Lifetime spectroscopy of impurities in silicon solar cells. This project aims to apply recently developed experimental techniques to the important problem of characterising impurities in silicon, with a strong focus on solar cell applications. These new spectroscopic techniques, which are based on carrier lifetime measurements, are more sensitive and less ambiguous than most existing methods. The results will have important implications for solar cell technologies in two independent ways - firstly, by allowing accurate diagnosis of the performance-limiting impurities in standard silicon solar cells - and secondly, by identifying particular impurities which could boost cell performance beyond the conventional limit through the impurity photovoltaic effect.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0561240
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$121,510.00
Summary
Combined reactor for the plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) of amorphous layers of silicon, silicon nitride and silicon oxide, and for Reactive Ion Etching. Our small, but very productive group (up to 30 publications per Discovery grant) has reached critical mass (8 people), and the acquisition of essential infrastructure is peremptory. Without the proposed plasma reactor our strong international impact (10 papers, one invited, at the 2003 world conference on photovoltaics) will ....Combined reactor for the plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) of amorphous layers of silicon, silicon nitride and silicon oxide, and for Reactive Ion Etching. Our small, but very productive group (up to 30 publications per Discovery grant) has reached critical mass (8 people), and the acquisition of essential infrastructure is peremptory. Without the proposed plasma reactor our strong international impact (10 papers, one invited, at the 2003 world conference on photovoltaics) will wane. This machine permits to deposit thin layers of silicon nitride and amorphous silicon and is a versatile tool for investigating silicon materials for photovoltaics and microelectronics. Such reactors have become an essential tool for silicon solar cell work. Most laboratories across the world have at least one, including UNSW, but access to the latter is impractical.Read moreRead less
ADVANCED PHYSICS AND CHARACTERISATION OF SILICON MATERIALS AND DEVICES. Silicon, the semiconductor material that has revolutionised modern society through Microelectronics, is also at the centre of Photovoltaics, the technology that permits harvesting the energy from the sun to improve the quality of life and sustain it beyond the limitations of fossil fuel resources. By improving our understanding of the fundamental properties of silicon and advancing the solar cell devices made from it, this p ....ADVANCED PHYSICS AND CHARACTERISATION OF SILICON MATERIALS AND DEVICES. Silicon, the semiconductor material that has revolutionised modern society through Microelectronics, is also at the centre of Photovoltaics, the technology that permits harvesting the energy from the sun to improve the quality of life and sustain it beyond the limitations of fossil fuel resources. By improving our understanding of the fundamental properties of silicon and advancing the solar cell devices made from it, this project aims to increase Australia's presence in the vast field of Microlectronics and maintain its leading position in solar energy technologies.Read moreRead less
Improving silicon grain boundaries by linking electronic material quality and device manufacturing conditions. This project develops our recent findings for improving silicon grain boundaries in electronic devices such as cheap solar cells, active matrix displays, thin-film transistors, etc. The performance of such devices and their applications have been limited mainly because no simple link between manufacturing conditions and device quality has been found. However, we recently verified a phys ....Improving silicon grain boundaries by linking electronic material quality and device manufacturing conditions. This project develops our recent findings for improving silicon grain boundaries in electronic devices such as cheap solar cells, active matrix displays, thin-film transistors, etc. The performance of such devices and their applications have been limited mainly because no simple link between manufacturing conditions and device quality has been found. However, we recently verified a physical model description of grain boundaries on a broad range of devices, and this allows us to find such a link and to address prevailing problems from a new perspective. This will improve both the understanding and the manufacturing of such devices.Read moreRead less
Enhancing the Understanding and Performance of Passivating TiO2 Coatings for Photovoltaic Devices. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been widely used as an antireflection coating in the silicon (Si) photovoltaics industry as it exhibits excellent optical properties and low deposition cost. However, recently manufacturers have been turning to alternatives such as hydrogenated silicon nitride coatings that exhibit greatly improved electronic properties, but cost 4 - 10 times more to deposit. This proj ....Enhancing the Understanding and Performance of Passivating TiO2 Coatings for Photovoltaic Devices. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been widely used as an antireflection coating in the silicon (Si) photovoltaics industry as it exhibits excellent optical properties and low deposition cost. However, recently manufacturers have been turning to alternatives such as hydrogenated silicon nitride coatings that exhibit greatly improved electronic properties, but cost 4 - 10 times more to deposit. This project seeks to understand the fundamental limitations behind the poor surface passivation afforded by TiO2 to a Si wafer, and subsequently develop a passivating TiO2 coating that can reduce the cost of electricity generated by Si solar cells.Read moreRead less
Unlocking the potential of n-type silicon for solar cells. This project will lead to an improved understanding of impurities in silicon, especially several emerging low-cost n-type silicon materials made especially for solar cells. This knowledge will enable the negative effects of these impurities to be eliminated or reduced, thus yielding higher efficiency modules that produce solar electricity at a lower cost. The potential benefits to Australia, which already has an established silicon solar ....Unlocking the potential of n-type silicon for solar cells. This project will lead to an improved understanding of impurities in silicon, especially several emerging low-cost n-type silicon materials made especially for solar cells. This knowledge will enable the negative effects of these impurities to be eliminated or reduced, thus yielding higher efficiency modules that produce solar electricity at a lower cost. The potential benefits to Australia, which already has an established silicon solar cell industry, are large. They include increased employment in well-paid high-technology jobs, increased export earnings, and reduced carbon dioxide emissions. These benefits could grow rapidly, in line with the global photovoltaic industry growth rate of more than 30% per year.Read moreRead less