Single-junction silicon solar cells are reaching the limit of their efficiency. To fabricate solar cells with higher efficiencies, tandem devices are being developed, which have multiple junctions to utilise a greater proportion of the solar spectrum. An alternative method to achieve high efficiency is in a silicon/singlet fission device. In this structure the low energy photons are collected by the silicon cell, with minimal energy losses, while the high energy photons are absorbed in an organic layer which undergoes 'singlet fission' to create two excitons from each photon. These two excitons are transferred to the silicon cell and contribute twice as much energy from the photon, compared to in a conventional single-junction solar cell.
To maximise the efficiency of these devices the silicon cell must be optimised to collect the excitons from the singlet fission material. This project will investigate the best method to fabricate the silicon cell to optimise the silicon cell efficiency and enhance the benefit of the singlet fission layer.
School
Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering
Research Area
Silicon cells | Tandem devices | Device fabrication | Characterisation
- Research environment
- Expected outcomes
- Supervisory team
- Reference material/links
The student will work closely with Shona McNab who specialises in fabrication and characterisation of silicon cells and have the oversight of Alison Ciesla and other members of the OMEGA silicon team. Experimental work will involve fabricating samples using evaporation and screen printing and testing using a range of industrially relevant characterisation techniques (Light IV, EQE, PL).
The student will become familiar with some key fabrication tools for making silicon cells and a range of characterisation tools. It is hoped that by the end of the project the student will have optimised some of the key aspects in creating a silicon cell with an enhancement from singlet fission.
