Development of advanced characterization techniques to resolve fundamental materials and device issues in photovoltaics

COFFEE_KLATCH · Invited

Abstract

Scientists within the National Center for Photovoltaics at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are pursuing critical activities to help accomplish the goal of the U.S. Department of Energy's SunShot Initiative—to make large-scale solar energy systems cost-competitive with other energy sources by 2020. To achieve this goal we must increase the efficiency of PV devices while reducing cost and increasing reliability. As technologies mature, fundamental improvements must be driven increasingly by an in-depth understanding of the relationships between device performance and material properties down to the nanoscale. Solar cell efficiency is often determined by the properties and distribution of the defects and impurities that control doping, recombination, and carrier transport in these devices. Advanced measurement capabilities are crucial to understand the distribution and properties of these defects. In this presentation I will discuss ongoing work at NREL to develop advanced characterization methods that will enable PV scientists to resolve the structural, compositional, optical, and electronic properties of these defects and impurities in established and newly developed PV technologies.

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Authors

  • John Colton

    Brigham Young University Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Brigham Young University, None, The College of William and Mary/Jefferson Lab, Brigham Young University-Idaho, Blue Ridge Research and Consulting LLC, Air Force Research Laboratory - Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Brigham Young Univ - Provo, Blue Ridge Research and Consulting, University of Utah, SRI International, Utah State University, Utah Valley University, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Professor, Graduate, United States Air Force Academy, Arizona State Univ, SiO2 NanoTech, Entrepix Inc, AFRL, Advisor, Brigham Young University- Provo, University of New Mexico, Univ of Utah, University of Wisconsin -- Madison, New Mexico Tech Physics Dept., Retired, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Department of Physics \& Astronomy, University of Hawai'i, JILA and University of Colorado, Boulder, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, University of Colorado, Boulder, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Space Dynamics Lab, New Mexico Tech, BYU Professor, Brigham Young University -- Provo, Northern Arizona University, University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado State University, University of Utah, Department of Physics, New Mexico State University