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  • Offer Profile
  • In the department of solar energy our scientists are working on the next generation of solar cells, including new kinds of materials and innovative cell structures. Long-term goals are to develop efficient and competitive thin film solar cells and multispectral cells. Thin-film technologies are developed to a stage where industrial applications can follow as the next step. As cofounder of the Photovoltaic Competence Centre (PVcomB) HZB supports the technology transfer to the industry.
Product Portfolio
  • Department Solar Energy Research

  • The HZB concentrates on targeted basic research and uses this as the foundation for the technological development of prototypes for industrial applications. The work involves on the one hand the development of highly efficient thin-layer solar cells and is oriented towards the currently most advanced semiconductor materials in the world. On the other hand, new material combinations from common and environmentally compatible elements are researched. Generation of fuels in "wet" energy systems is being tested in line with natural models.

    Solar energy research uses a broad spectrum of technical facilities. It co-operates with various institutes and industrial companies. The goal is to offer a scientific and technological response to the growing demands and challenges of business globalisation.
  • Research Topics

      • Advanced Thin-Film Devices

      • The goal within this research area is to use HZB‘s unique technological and analytical capabilities to develop new devices and processes with relevance to the PV-industry. On one hand this involves helping thin-film PV industry to meet their long-term efficiency and cost-reduction goals. On the other hand the research at HZB extends beyond established technologies, toward developing materials based on abundant and nontoxic elements for use in future efficient thin-film photovoltaic devices and using and exploiting synergies between different thin-film technologies.

        Chalcopyrite-Type Semiconductors
        This research field aims at further developing the potential of chalco-pyrite-type semiconductors as a high efficiency option for thin-film devices. One main goal is to develop very high-efficiency devices (in the 20% range) using high-throughput deposition processes for the semiconducting layers. The use of flexible substrates is another key goal. Alternative multinary absorber materials based on abundant and nontoxic elements are under investigation, and novel device structures are being developed as an alternative to the conventional n+-p heterojunction devices.

        Silicon Photovoltaics
        At HZB, the scientific and technological foundations for applications in crystalline silicon thin-film photovoltaics are investigated. Thin-film crystalline silicon solar cells grown on an inexpensive substrate combine the advantages of traditional silicon wafer technology - such as high material quality - with the high productivity, energy efficient production, electrical interconnectivity, and the low materials consumption of thin-film technology. The investigation of solar cell concepts based on silicon heterostructures, in which hetero-emitters are deposited as thin layers, targets a process simplification which may be applied to thinfilm solar cell structures as well as silicon bulk solar cells.
      • Novel Materials and Device Concepts

      • Research in Novel Materials and Concepts is directed toward the long-term goal of producing cost-effective and more efficient devices. As an example, solar cell concepts based on nanoparticles promise to provide extended chemical flexibility and exploit quantum-size and optical coherence effects. The aim is to generate the scientific knowledge needed to create photovoltaic devices beyond the present cost and efficiency limitations.

        Efficiencies beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit for single band gap materials have so far only been observed for multijunction devices using stacks of III-V materials with different band gap energies. In recent years, a wide variety of theoretical concepts have been discussed to make use of novel photovoltaic concepts to exceed fundamental efficiency limits by minimising spectral and thermalisation losses without using multijunction cells.

        Scientific approaches are employed to systematically overcome fundamental challenges governing efficiency limits as well as addressing practical requirements such as the desire to use low-cost materials. For this purpose we make use of a combination of materials that are already in an advanced stage of development (in particular materials for advanced thin-film devices) and of materials and concepts (such as hybrid devices) that up to now have been investigated primarily on
        fundamental levels.
      • Solar Fuels

      • As part of the Solar Energy Research division, the Institute of Solar Fuels is working on the development of cost-effective PV hybrid systems that directly convert sunlight into stored chemical energy by producing hydrogen via water splitting. The direct generation of fuels from solar light ranks amongst the most prominent challenges for a sustainable energy technology based on regenerative primary energy sources. This approach could circumvent the inherent challenge of storing solar energy in form of hydrogen or hydrocarbons. Material storage is in demand to guarantee mobility, especially in air transportation applications. For this purpose, the energy conversion of light into electrical energy via photonic excitation of a thinfilm PV structure is directly combined with corrosion stable layers at the front and back contacts that catalyze the process of water photolysis at the electrodeelectrolyte-interfaces. The generated hydrogen can be stored as compressed gas, liquid-H2, metal hydride, or methanol. The inherent problem of the discontinuous vailability of sun light can therefore be overcome by reconverting the stored hydrogen into electricity using a fuel cell.
      • Advanced Analytics and Modeling

      • Optimum performance of solar cells currently in production and future solar cell concepts can only be achieved with the aid of advanced simulation and characterization tools. Dedicated tools are mandatory to monitor the physical processes that capture, store and release energy and thereby assist strategies to control these processes in tomorrow’s pv devices. HZB’s large-scale facilities – the Berlin Neutron Research Reactor (BER II) and Berlin Synchrotron Radiation Source (BESSY II) in combination with dedicated analytical labs at the centre provide unique research facilities that combine neutrons and photons for pv research from the surface deep into the bulk of the sample. A new addition to the analytics portfolio will be the SISSY lab space.
        Here, in-situ growth, interface- and defect studies will be enhanced by synchrotron based spectroscopic methods. The facility SISSY (Solar Energy In Situ Laboratory at the Synchrotron) will complement and support the existing experiments for chalcopyrite semiconductor (CIGSe) interface engineering and film growth (CISSY and EDDIbeamline) and will enable the national and international silicon PV community to overcome limitations in diagnostics of interface and material properties existing today.
         
  • Institute for Silicon Photovoltaics

  • We work on the scientific and technological foundations for the application of thin film technology in silicon photovoltaics. Thin-film crystalline silicon solar cells grown on an inexpensive substrate (such as glass) combine the advantages of traditional silicon technology with the high productivity, energy efficient production, electrical interconnectivity, and the low materials consumption of thin film technology. The investigation of solar cell concepts based on silicon heterostructures, where heteroemitters are deposited as thin layers, targets a process simplification which may be applied to thin film solar cell structures as well as silicon bulk solar cells.

    Our research program focuses on two areas whose organizational structures are closely connected through the common use of technological processes and analytical methods within the department. Both areas are also supported by a range of methods of other departments within the solar cell and structural research divisions of the HZB.
  • Institute for Heterogeneous Materials Systems

  • We work on the scientific and technological foundations for the application of thin film technology in silicon photovoltaics. Thin-film crystalline silicon solar cells grown on an inexpensive substrate (such as glass) combine the advantages of traditional silicon technology with the high productivity, energy efficient production, electrical interconnectivity, and the low materials consumption of thin film technology. The investigation of solar cell concepts based on silicon heterostructures, where heteroemitters are deposited as thin layers, targets a process simplification which may be applied to thin film solar cell structures as well as silicon bulk solar cells.

    Our research program focuses on two areas whose organizational structures are closely connected through the common use of technological processes and analytical methods within the department. Both areas are also supported by a range of methods of other departments within the solar cell and structural research divisions of the HZB.
  • Institute of Technology

  • The institute pursues the fabrication and optimization of novel thin film solar cells, and their characterization in terms of process yield, reliability, and conversion efficiency. At the core of the activities is the technology for preparation of Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 compound semiconductor thin films and complete photovoltaic modules at the laboratory scale. The fabrication of thin films is supported by the development of suitable process control and in-situ analytical techniques. Activities include structural, morphological, and optoelectronic characterization of layers and complete solar cells. Simulation tools are employed in conjunction with optoelectronic characterization of solar cells.
  • Institute for Solar Fuels and Energy Storage Materials

  • The direct generation of fuels from solar light ranks amongst the most prominent challenges for a sustainable energy technology based on regenerative primary energy sources. Such an approach would guarantee the inherent storage problem of electrical energy combined with the discontinuous availability of sun light as well as the safeguarding of mobile implementation (such as air transportation). For this purpose our institute pursues a strategy to generate hydrogen in a solid-state material system in which both the semiconducting absorber and the catalyst are integrated into a structure (HZB Report 2009). Therefore the energy conversion of light into electrical energy via photonic stimulation of the semiconductor is directly combined with the catalytical procedures on the electrolyte-electrode-interface for the conversion into storable chemical energy (hydrogen). The generated hydrogen can than be stored by means of already known methods (compressed gas, liquid-H2, metal hydride, conversion to methanol).

    The understanding and steering of the appropriate processes and their interaction is the goal for scientific work and a prerequisite for a sufficiently efficient hydrogen development. This requires high-capacity characterization methods in a broad interactive scientific approach in the fields of photo-physics, surface- and material chemistry, photo-electrochemistry, interface- and surface sciences, as well as system alignment.
  • Young Investigator Group Interface Design

  • Analytical methods
    • Photoelectron Spectroscopy
    • Inverse Photoemission Spectroscopy
    • Scanning Probe Microscopy
    • X-ray Emission Spectroscopy
    • X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy
  • PVcomB

  • Competence Centre Thin-Film- and Nanotechnology for Photovoltaics Berlin
    Technology Transfer – Bridging the gap between fundamental science and industry

    PVcomB's main goal is to support world wide growth of thin-film photovoltaic technologies and -products by providing top level technology transfer.

    The structure of PVcomB is unique in its combination of research & development with high-level education and training. In co-operative R&D projects with industry, all relevant aspects of the production of thin-film modules are addressed. Additionally, education and training will provide the industry with highly skilled thin-film PV professionals.

    Two 30x30 cm2 Reference Lines for Thin-Film Silicon (a-Si/μc-Si) and CIS

    There is a large gap between production of lab-sized photovoltaic cells and industrial-size modules. PVcomB bridges this gap by operating two dedicated pilot-lines for intermediate size PV modules with an area of 30 x 30 cm². This intermediate module size is well suited to address questions arising in industrial production. At the same time, alternatives will be developed and tested for each process and analytical step. The great variety of analytical tools available ensures that changes in the product-performance can be linked to fundamental material or process properties. A truly unique feature of PVcomB´s pilot-lines is that both thin-film silicon as well as CIS based modules will be studied within a single laboratory. This convenient arrangement offers the potential to unlock significant synergies in many topics common to all thin-film based technologies.

    What we offer:
    • Ramp up support
    • Continuous development of industrial processes
    • Development of promising high-risk concepts
    • Upscaling of succesful basic research projects of HZB and TU Berlin to module size of 30 x 30 cm2
    • Use of PVcomB reference production lines as benchmark for PV suppliers: new materials, analytical tools or alternative process steps