Delft University of Technology (TUD) is one of the leading engineering universities in Europe. It has 8 faculties in all major fields of science and engineering that accommodate a student body of more than 20,000 divided over some 15 Bachelor’s and 40 Master’s programs. Advanced research facilities are available, including a reference line for fabrication for c-Si based solar cells and a laboratory for the deposition and measurement of thin-film silicon solar cells and layers. The PVMD (Photovoltaic Materials and Devices) group headed by Dr. Olindo Isabella aims to deeper understand the solar cell device physics using advanced characterization and modelling, and use this knowledge for designing and fabricating advanced solar cells with higher efficiencies and considering the module integration. We have a broad research program from device fabrication up to and including monitoring of PV systems and forecasting annual yield.
Tasks
Within PEARL TUD is studying the impact of reversed bias exposure to CIGS PV modules. Defects caused by reverse bias under different conditions will be characterized in detail with the aim to have a better understanding of the mechanisms behind this defect formation. Local compositional changes, in general resulting in shunt paths, will be monitored to identify the effect on IV output parameters. Finally and based on this deeper understanding our goal is to overcome this defect generation and mitigate the negative effects on the output of the PV modules and improve the long-term reliability under realistic operation conditions.
Contact
Arthur Weeber, a.w.weeber@tudelft.nl
