Dr Ran Chen
Post-Doc Res Fellow (UNSW)

Dr Ran Chen

Awarded PhD from the School of Photovoltaics and Renewable Energy Engineering (SPREE), UNSW, Sydney, Australia in 2017. Thesis topic is titled "Low-temperature hydrogenation for plated silicon solar cells".

Engineering
Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering

Ran Chen submitted her PhD in March 2017 which focused on technology development for advanced hydrogenation in p-type multi wafers and solving light-induced degradation in such silicon. She has published numerous related papers and been an inventor on 7 patents for innovative approaches for controlling the charge state of hydrogen atoms in silicon. Her patent for using sub-bandgap photons to convert H- into H0 is of particular importance for the new n-type advanced hydrogenation technology being developed in her PhD has been awarded Category 1 research funding from the Australian Research Energy Agency (ARENA) and also She is an expert on solving contact resistance problems originating during hydrogenation due to passivation of metal/silicon interfaces and the adhesion of the metal contacts. 

Phone
+61-2-9385-6053
  • Book Chapters | 2021
    2021, 'Negative impacts of hydrogen in silicon', in Hydrogen Passivation and Laser Doping for Silicon Solar Cells, Institution of Engineering and Technology, pp. 249 - 303, http://dx.doi.org/10.1049/pbpo134e_ch6
  • Journal articles | 2023
    2023, 'Multiple modification on nanoporous silicon derived from photovoltaic silicon cutting waste for extraction of Pb in industrial effluents', Materials Today Communications, 35, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mtcomm.2023.105776
    Journal articles | 2021
    Chen R; Wright M; Chen D; Yang J; Zheng P; Zhang X; Wenham S; Ciesla A, 2021, '24.58% efficient commercial n-type silicon solar cells with hydrogenation', Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, 29, pp. 1213 - 1218, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pip.3464
    Journal articles | 2021
    2021, 'Removal of as(V) based on amino-group surface-functionalized porous silicon derived from photovoltaic silicon cutting powder', Coatings, 11, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/coatings11070850
    Journal articles | 2021
    2021, 'The Mechanism of Surface Passivation Degradation in SiO2/SiNxStack under Light and Elevated Temperature', IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, 11, pp. 1380 - 1387, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/JPHOTOV.2021.3106881
    Journal articles | 2021
    2021, 'Ultra-Thin Silicon Wafers Fabrication and Inverted Pyramid Texturing Based on Cu-Catalyzed Chemical Etching', Silicon, 13, pp. 351 - 359, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12633-020-00429-x
    Journal articles | 2020
    2020, '23.83% efficient mono-PERC incorporating advanced hydrogenation', Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, 28, pp. 1239 - 1247, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pip.3243
    Journal articles | 2020
    2020, 'Carbon quantum dots interfacial modified graphene/silicon Schottky barrier solar cell', Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 835, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2020.155268
    Journal articles | 2020
    2020, 'High-performance porous silicon/nanosilver anodes from industrial low-grade silicon for lithium-ion batteries', ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 12, pp. 49080 - 49089, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.0c14157
    Journal articles | 2020
    2020, 'Mechanism of enhancing Fe removal from metallurgical grade silicon by metal-assisted chemical leaching', Journal of Materials Research and Technology, 9, pp. 12213 - 12222, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2020.09.007
    Journal articles | 2019
    2019, 'Degradation of surface passivation and bulk in p-type monocrystalline silicon wafers at elevated temperature', IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, 9, pp. 97 - 97, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/JPHOTOV.2018.2878791
    Journal articles | 2018
    Chen D; Hamer P; Kim M; bourett-sicotte G; liu S; chan C; ciesla A; chen R; abbott M; hallam B; wenham S, 2018, 'Hydrogen induced degradation: A possible mechanism for light- and elevated temperature- induced degradation in n-type silicon', Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 185, pp. 174 - 182, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2018.05.034
    Journal articles | 2018
    Ciesla A; Chen R; Wang S; Ji J; Shi Z; Mai L; Chan C; Hallam B; Chong CM; Wenham S; Green M, 2018, 'High-voltage p-type PERC solar cells with anchored plating and hydrogenation', Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, 26, pp. 397 - 401, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pip.2986
    Journal articles | 2018
    Fung TH; Kim M; Chen D; Chan CE; Hallam BJ; Chen R; Payne DN R; Ciesla A; Wenham SR; Abbott MD, 2018, 'A four-state kinetic model for the carrier-induced degradation in multicrystalline silicon: Introducing the reservoir state', Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 184, pp. 48 - 56, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2018.04.024
    Journal articles | 2017
    Chen D; Kim M; Stefani BV; Hallam BJ; Abbott MD; Chan CE; Chen R; Payne DN R; Nampalli N; Ciesla A; Fung TH; Kim K; Wenham SR, 2017, 'Evidence of an identical firing-activated carrier-induced defect in monocrystalline and multicrystalline silicon', Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 172, pp. 293 - 300, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2017.08.003
    Journal articles | 2017
    Chen R; Wang S; Wenham A; Shi Z; Young T; Ji J; Edwards M; Sugianto A; Mai L; Wenham S; Chong C, 2017, 'Plated contacts for solar cells with superior adhesion strength to screen printed solar cells', Frontiers in Energy, 11, pp. 72 - 77, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11708-016-0428-4
    Journal articles | 2017
    2017, 'Instability of Increased Contact Resistance in Silicon Solar Cells Following Post-Firing Thermal Processes', Solar RRL, 1, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/solr.201700129
    Journal articles | 2017
    2017, 'Modulation of Carrier-Induced Defect Kinetics in Multi-Crystalline Silicon PERC Cells Through Dark Annealing', Solar RRL, 1, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/solr.201600028
    Journal articles | 2017
    2017, 'Rapid mitigation of carrier-induced degradation in commercial silicon solar cells', Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 56, http://dx.doi.org/10.7567/JJAP.56.08MB13
    Journal articles | 2015
    Li Z; Hsiao PC; Zhang W; Chen R; Yao Y; Papet P; Lennon A, 2015, 'Patterning for Plated Heterojunction Cells', Energy Procedia, 67, pp. 76 - 83, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2015.03.290
  • Conference Papers | 2022
    2022, '0.3% Efficiency Improvement for n-PERT Solar Cells with Illuminated Hydrogenation Process', in AIP Conference Proceedings, AIP Publishing, presented at SiliconPV 2021, The 11th International Conference on Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaics, http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0090522
    Patents | 2021
    2021, A method for improving wafer performance for photovoltaic devices, Patent No. US pat no. 10910509
    Patents | 2019
    Conference Presentations | 2019
    2019, 'Hydrogen Charge States & Recombination Activity in PV Silicon', presented at 18th Conference - Gettering and Defect Engineering in Semiconductor Technology - GADEST, Zeuthen, Germany, 22 September 2019 - 27 September 2019
    Conference Posters | 2019
    2019, 'Hydrogen-Induced Degradation: An explanation of Light-and Elevated Temperature-Induced Degradation Mechanisms in n-and p-type Silicon', Leuven, Belgium, presented at 9thInternational Conference on Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaics 2019, Leuven, Belgium, 08 April 2019
    Conference Presentations | 2019
    2019, 'Light and Elevated Temperature Induced Degradation (LeTID): the Past , the Present and What Lies Ahead', presented at 2019 Asia Pacific Solar Research Conference, Canberra, Australia, 02 December 2019
    Conference Presentations | 2019
    2019, 'Will LeTID remain a commercial problem? Evaluating the solutions and a possible root cause. (LeTID仍是一个商业难题吗?根源分析和问题解决)', presented at 18th Issue PV WE CLASS-Crystalline Silicon Advanced Technology and Materials Forum, Wuxi, China, 24 April 2019 - 24 May 2019
    Conference Presentations | 2018
    Chen D; Hamer P; Kim M; Bourett-Sicotte G; Liu S; Ciesla A; Chan C; Chen R; Fung TH; Vargas C; Ye Q; Abbott M; Hallam BJ; Wenham SR, 2018, 'Hydrogen Induced Degradation : A Possible Mechanism for Light and Elevated Temperature Induced Degradation (LeTID) in n-type Silicon', Vol. 185, pp. 174 - 182, presented at 8th International Conference on Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaics, Lausanne Switzerland, 19 March 2018 - 18 May 2018, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2018.05.034
    Conference Papers | 2018
    2018, 'Hydrogen-induced degradation', in 2018 IEEE 7TH WORLD CONFERENCE ON PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY CONVERSION (WCPEC) (A JOINT CONFERENCE OF 45TH IEEE PVSC, 28TH PVSEC & 34TH EU PVSEC), IEEE, Waikoloa, HI, pp. 0001 - 0008, presented at 7th IEEE World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC), Waikoloa, HI, 10 June 2018 - 15 June 2018, http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000469200400001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=891bb5ab6ba270e68a29b250adbe88d1
    Conference Papers | 2018
    2018, 'Hydrogen-induced degradation', in 7th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, Hawaii, USA, pp. 1 - 8, presented at 7th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, Hawaii, USA, 10 June 2018 - 17 June 2018, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.2018.8548100
    Conference Papers | 2018
    2018, 'Impact of the impurity concentration on modulating charge state occupation in silicon', in 2018 IEEE 7TH WORLD CONFERENCE ON PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY CONVERSION (WCPEC) (A JOINT CONFERENCE OF 45TH IEEE PVSC, 28TH PVSEC & 34TH EU PVSEC), IEEE, HI, Waikoloa, pp. 0053 - 0057, presented at 7th IEEE World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC) / A Joint Conference of 45th IEEE PVSC / 28th PVSEC / 34th EU PVSEC, HI, Waikoloa, 10 June 2018 - 15 June 2018, https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000469200400012&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=891bb5ab6ba270e68a29b250adbe88d1
    Conference Papers | 2018
    2018, 'Impact of the impurity concentration on modulating charge state occupation in silicon', in 2018 IEEE 7th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, WCPEC 2018 - A Joint Conference of 45th IEEE PVSC, 28th PVSEC and 34th EU PVSEC, pp. 53 - 57, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.2018.8548195
    Conference Papers | 2017
    Wenham A; Chong CM; Wang S; Chen R; Ji J; Shi Z; Mai L; Sugianto A; Abbott M; Wenham S; Barnett A; Green M, 2017, 'Copper plated contacts for large-scale manufacturing', in 2017 IEEE 44th Photovoltaic Specialist Conference, PVSC 2017, pp. 2723 - 2727, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.2017.8366708
    Conference Papers | 2017
    chan C; abbott M; Chen D; chen R; chong C; ciesla A; hallam B; hameiri Z; kim K; liu S; samadi A; varshney U; wenham S, 2017, 'New insights into degradation in multi-crystalline silicon PERC Cells', in New insights into degradation in multi-crystalline silicon PERC Cells, 2017 World Solar Congress, Shanghai, China, presented at 2017 World Solar Congress, Shanghai, China, 04 September 2017 - 06 September 2017
    Conference Posters | 2017
    chan C; payne D; abbott M; Chen D; ciesla A; chen R; hallam B; wenham S, 2017, 'Investigations of carrier-induced degradation behaviour in p-type mc-Si', Washington DC, presented at 44th IEEE Photovoltaics Specialist Conference, Washington DC, 25 June 2017 - 30 June 2017
    Conference Papers | 2017
    2017, 'Investigation of carrier-induced defect behavior in p-type multi-crystalline silicon', in 2017 IEEE 44TH PHOTOVOLTAIC SPECIALIST CONFERENCE (PVSC), IEEE, DC, Washington, pp. 2576 - 2581, presented at IEEE 44th Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC), DC, Washington, 25 June 2017 - 30 June 2017, https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000455636002138&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=891bb5ab6ba270e68a29b250adbe88d1
    Conference Presentations | 2017
    2017, 'New insights into LeTID: Degradation of multi-crystalline silicon PERC Cells', presented at PVQAT TG13 Cell Task Force Technical Committee, Wuxi, China, 21 September 2017 - 22 September 2017
    Conference Papers | 2016
    2016, 'Copper Plated Contacts for Large-Scale Manufacturing', in Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 2016 IEEE 43rd, Portland, U.S., pp. 2990 - 2993, presented at 43rd IEEE PVSC, Portland, U.S., 05 June 2016 - 10 June 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.2016.7750211
    Conference Papers | 2015
    Chen R; Zhang W; Wang X; Lennon A, 2015, 'Failure Modes Identified during Adhesion Testing of Metal Fingers on Silicon Solar Cells', in Energy Procedia, pp. 194 - 202, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2015.02.087
    Conference Papers | 2015
    Chong CM; Wenham A; Chen R; Wang S; Ji J; Shi Z; Mai L; Tjahjono B; Hallam B; Sugianto A; Wenham S, 2015, 'Improved adhesion for plated Solar cell metallisation', in 2015 IEEE 42nd Photovoltaic Specialist Conference, PVSC 2015, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.2015.7355882
    Conference Papers | 2014
    Lennon A; Flynn S; Young T; Nampalli N; Edwards M; Evans R; Yao Y; Hsiao P; Wang X; Allen V; Chen R; Mai L; Sugianto A; Vais V; Jordan D; Egan R; Wenham S, 2014, 'Addressing Perceived Barriers to the Adoption of Plated Metallisation for Silicon Photovoltaic Manufacturing', in Proceedings of the 52nd Annual Conference, Australian Solar Energy Society, 52nd Annual Conference of the Australian Solar Energy Society, Melbourne, presented at 52nd Annual Conference of the Australian Solar Energy Society, Melbourne, 08 May 2014 - 09 May 2014, http://solar.org.au/papers/14papers/%2318_final.pdf
    Conference Papers | 2014
    Li Z; Chen R; Yao Y; Zhang W; Wang X; Perez-Wurfl I; Lennon A, 2014, 'Patterning and metallization of silicon solar cells by inkjet-printed functional ink on a photoresist layer', in 2014 IEEE 40th Photovoltaic Specialist Conference, PVSC 2014, pp. 2499 - 2501, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.2014.6925437

1. Lead Chief Investigator on Australia Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) project 2017/RND003 titled "Improving World-Record Commercial High-Efficiency n-type Solar Cells through Recombination Analysis & Innovative Passivation".

2. Chief Investigator on ARENA project 2017/RND010 titled "Development of novel hydrogen trapping techniques for breakthrough Si casting and wafering technologies".

3. Chief Investigator on ARENA project 2020/RND005 titled "Next-generation selective-emitters for commercial PERC and TOPCon solar panels".

4. Investigator on Netherland government granted project titled "Light and Elevated Temperature Induced Degradation Repair Approach".

2018 Staff excellence award in Industry Engagement from Faculty of Engineering, UNSW

2020 Staff excellence award in Equity and Diversity as part of the "Early Career Academics Committee" from Faculty of Engineering, UNSW.

2020 Staff excellence award in Equity and Diversity as part of the "The Commercial Solar Cells Defect Engineering Team" from Faculty of Engineering, UNSW.

Light and elevated temperature induced degradation (LeTID) for n- and p-type silicon solar cells

Advanced hydrogen charge state control techniques for high-efficiency n-type silicon solar cells 

Defect Engineering for industrial n-type silicon solar cells

Ring defect studies for n- and p-type silicon materials

Investigation of contact resistance problem caused by hydrogenation at metal/Si interface for high-efficiency n-type Si solar cells

Adhesion studies for different metal contacts for Si solar cells