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
Stellar chemical signatures of planet formation. Through demanding observations with the largest telescopes and extremely accurate analyses, the project will search for the characteristic fingerprints of planet formation imprinted in the chemical compositions of the sun and stars that we have discovered. The work will shed light on the origin of the solar system and identify stars harbouring planets.
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354551
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Network for Renewable Energy. The proposed Research Network will integrate and coordinate the entire research field of renewable energy in Australia. This Network covers a diverse range of technologies, and includes all prominent researchers in the area of renewable energy in Australia. The Network is strengthened by the inclusion of key people from government agencies, industry, industry associations and international research organisations.
Australia is a leading player in the ....ARC Research Network for Renewable Energy. The proposed Research Network will integrate and coordinate the entire research field of renewable energy in Australia. This Network covers a diverse range of technologies, and includes all prominent researchers in the area of renewable energy in Australia. The Network is strengthened by the inclusion of key people from government agencies, industry, industry associations and international research organisations.
Australia is a leading player in the world's renewable energy industry. An effective structure for networking and for the exchange of people, information and research results will maintain and improve Australia's position in this rapidly growing industry.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE240100004
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$762,800.00
Summary
Ultrafast Infrared Spectroscopy Facility. The Ultrafast Infrared Spectroscopy Facility will provide a suite of techniques spanning the visible to mid-infrared spectral regions, on time scales corresponding to the emission of light, and energy conversion in low energy advanced functional materials. Research performed with this equipment will include photonic and thermal energy conversion; nanophotonics; quantum technologies and new infrared functional materials. This facility will enhance capacit ....Ultrafast Infrared Spectroscopy Facility. The Ultrafast Infrared Spectroscopy Facility will provide a suite of techniques spanning the visible to mid-infrared spectral regions, on time scales corresponding to the emission of light, and energy conversion in low energy advanced functional materials. Research performed with this equipment will include photonic and thermal energy conversion; nanophotonics; quantum technologies and new infrared functional materials. This facility will enhance capacity in probing new materials and devices in the near and mid-infrared regions, and will increase institutional and cross-disciplinary research collaboration.Read moreRead less
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
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100067
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$150,000.00
Summary
A femtosecond Mmd-IR optical parametric amplifier source for waveguide nonlinear optics. The mid-infrared is an immensely important region of the optical spectrum for sensing toxic or illicit molecules or pollutants using their spectral fingerprints. The equipment will facilitate the development of new techniques for sensing based on nonlinear processes in waveguides.
Nanophotonics for strong absorption in extremely thin solar cells: moving beyond silicon. This project will lead to the development of extremely thin solar cells made of novel low-cost materials, which would likely reduce the cost of photovoltaic technology. If the cost of photovoltaics was sufficiently low then it could have a major impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pollution in Australia and worldwide.
Stable perovskite-unlocking the full potential of low-cost solar cells. Despite impressive conversion efficiency, the perovskites' poor stability impedes their commercialization. This project aims to develop strategies for stable perovskite solar cells. This will be realized by a thorough understanding of the degradation origins with stimuli, and development of degradation mitigation strategies including materials and interfaces engineering, defect control and passivation, synergized by a system ....Stable perovskite-unlocking the full potential of low-cost solar cells. Despite impressive conversion efficiency, the perovskites' poor stability impedes their commercialization. This project aims to develop strategies for stable perovskite solar cells. This will be realized by a thorough understanding of the degradation origins with stimuli, and development of degradation mitigation strategies including materials and interfaces engineering, defect control and passivation, synergized by a systematic degradation evaluation, state-of-art multi-scale material and device characterizations and device modeling providing feedback for optimization. The project will bring new scientific findings, key technological step-change solutions, unlocking the full potential of perovskites for cheaper photovoltaic technologies.
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Supporting early science from the Murchison Widefield Array - a Square Kilometre Array (SKA) pathfinder telescope. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is likely to be the first operational pathfinder for the $2.5 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA) on one of the two candidate SKA sites - the Murchison Radioastronomy Observatory (MRO) in Western Australia. The MWA will therefore generate large volumes of scientific data before 2012, the expected date of the international decision that will dete ....Supporting early science from the Murchison Widefield Array - a Square Kilometre Array (SKA) pathfinder telescope. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is likely to be the first operational pathfinder for the $2.5 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA) on one of the two candidate SKA sites - the Murchison Radioastronomy Observatory (MRO) in Western Australia. The MWA will therefore generate large volumes of scientific data before 2012, the expected date of the international decision that will determine whether Australia or South Africa is to host the SKA. The early science results from the MWA will showcase the excellence of the Australian site for radio astronomy and play a significant strategic role in Australia's bid to attract the SKA, as an international mega-science project to Australia, with its benefits to Australian science, industry and society.Read moreRead less
Supporting early science from the Murchison Widefield Array - a Square Kilometre Array (SKA) pathfinder telescope. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is likely to be the first operational pathfinder for the $2.5 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA) on one of the two candidate SKA sites - the Murchison Radioastronomy Observatory (MRO) in Western Australia. The MWA will therefore generate large volumes of scientific data before 2012, the expected date of the international decision that will dete ....Supporting early science from the Murchison Widefield Array - a Square Kilometre Array (SKA) pathfinder telescope. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is likely to be the first operational pathfinder for the $2.5 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA) on one of the two candidate SKA sites - the Murchison Radioastronomy Observatory (MRO) in Western Australia. The MWA will therefore generate large volumes of scientific data before 2012, the expected date of the international decision that will determine whether Australia or South Africa is to host the SKA. The early science results from the MWA will showcase the excellence of the Australian site for radio astronomy and play a significant strategic role in Australia's bid to attract the SKA, as an international mega-science project to Australia, with its benefits to Australian science, industry and society.Read moreRead less