Fundamental processes in organic photodetectors - towards next generation imaging and sensing systems. Photodetectors are central components in displays, imaging devices and sensors. The project aims to develop the next generation of photodetectors based upon organic semiconductors with the potential to be extremely cheap, recyclable, mechanically flexible and even biocompatible.
Next generation excitonic solar cells using advanced charge generation concepts: setting the new efficiency benchmark. Next generation cheap organic solar cells will be developed, which will facilitate the large scale deployment of affordable solar cells, thus enabling Australia to reduce its carbon footprint. The proposed significant advances in solar cell design will place Australia at the forefront of this technology creating new industries.
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
The science and engineering of defects and impurities in photovoltaic silicon. This project will create the knowledge and techniques that are essential to make low-cost, impure silicon suitable for producing highly efficient solar cells. This will help to drive down the cost of solar electricity, since the silicon material itself is a significant component of the overall cost of most photovoltaic modules.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101368
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Silicon 2.0: The nature of grown-in defects in very high-purity silicon. This project aims to produce technologies to maximise the electronic quality of silicon and mitigate the negative impacts of defects on high-efficiency solar cells. The intended outcomes are the development of novel solar cell processes to produce defect-free silicon and new characterisation techniques to image defects in silicon wafers. This would allow high efficiency solar cells to overcome their current limits and unloc ....Silicon 2.0: The nature of grown-in defects in very high-purity silicon. This project aims to produce technologies to maximise the electronic quality of silicon and mitigate the negative impacts of defects on high-efficiency solar cells. The intended outcomes are the development of novel solar cell processes to produce defect-free silicon and new characterisation techniques to image defects in silicon wafers. This would allow high efficiency solar cells to overcome their current limits and unlock the potential of current processes to produce solar cells with efficiency above 26 per cent, providing more efficient and affordable solar electricity.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
Transparent metal oxides, a window of opportunity for silicon solar cells. This project aims to develop novel silicon heterojunction solar cells based on transparent conductive metal oxides (TCOs). Thin layers of zinc, gallium and molybdenum oxides present negligible absorption losses, which leads to a high output current. The project will optimise them as surface passivating layers, to achieve a high output voltage. TCOs can also provide good lateral conductivity, to boost the fill factor. The ....Transparent metal oxides, a window of opportunity for silicon solar cells. This project aims to develop novel silicon heterojunction solar cells based on transparent conductive metal oxides (TCOs). Thin layers of zinc, gallium and molybdenum oxides present negligible absorption losses, which leads to a high output current. The project will optimise them as surface passivating layers, to achieve a high output voltage. TCOs can also provide good lateral conductivity, to boost the fill factor. The research proposes to create insight into the physical mechanisms of selective contacts for electrons and holes, paving the way for a range of innovative solar cell concepts. Transparent metal oxides open new windows of opportunity to increase the conversion efficiency of silicon solar cells using simpler fabrication processes.Read moreRead less