Events

Disruptive Low-Cost Thin-film Photovoltaics: A Pathway for ‘Solution-less’ Perovskite Solar Cells

April 15, 2016 at 3pm/ rm: 36-462

Gregory J. Wilson
Research Group Leader for Solar Energy Systems and Principal Research Scientist for Next Generation Photovoltaics, CSIRO Energy. Australia

In recent years organometal halide perovskite structures have emerged as an inexpensive and revolutionary family of photoactive semiconductors in thin-film PV: arguably the biggest disruption to photovoltaics development in 60+ years since Bell Labs revolutionized silicon – Science Magazine touted it as ‘one of the top scientific breakthroughs of 2013’. Although power conversion efficiency (PCE) for high performance devices is currently recognised as 21.02% (0.1cm²) / 15.0% (1.017cm²), module efficiencies are the next logical step to be recognised (early reports indicate 6-8% PCE). Nevertheless, emerging photovoltaic (PV) technologies such as Perovskite solar cells, although showing extremely encouraging performance, present significant measurement challenges compared to more established PV technologies.

In this presentation I’ll give an overview of CSIRO (The Australian, Commonwealth Industrial Research Organisation) and the Solar Energy Systems Research Group and expand on our collaborative research program into thin-film perovskite photovoltaic. I’ll describe our investigation of processes for large-area deposition and perovskite film formation toward ‘solution-less’ fabrication of glass cells and modules and our undertaking in the development and dissemination of best-practice guidelines to promote a culture of high accuracy measurement excellence in Australia. Further, I’ll present parallel studies into large-grain crystal growth via a modified interdiffusion method to improve crystallisation and film planarity and the application of a ‘metal-free’ all-carbon electrode that surpasses TCO coatings whilst retaining flexibility.

Gregory Wilson is a Solar Energy Specialist and is Research Group Leader for Solar Energy Systems and Principal Research Scientist for Next Generation Photovoltaics in CSIRO Energy in Australia. He was the 2010 Winner of the QUT Faculty of Science and Technology Outstanding Young Alumni of the Year and is the 2015 CSIRO Office of the Chief Executive Julius Career Awardee in Energy. Dr Wilson is a member of the Editorial Board for several journals in the solar energy and materials chemistry fields and is a regular peer reviewer in high impact international science journals.

This talk is part of the Perovskites Seminar Series organized by Sam Stranks and sponsored by the Center for Excitonics. For more info contact Sam: stranks@mit.edu