here - Solar - Australian National University

ANU 2012-13 Solar Energy Research Annual Report - P a g e | 1

Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3

Our Team ................................................................................................................................................ 4

Academics ........................................................................................................................................... 4

Technical Services Team ..................................................................................................................... 4

Research Staff ..................................................................................................................................... 4

PhD & MPhil Candidates ..................................................................................................................... 4

Research Areas Part 1: Photovoltaics ..................................................................................................... 5

Nanophotonics .................................................................................................................................... 5

Fundamentals ..................................................................................................................................... 6

Highly doped silicon ........................................................................................................................ 6

Physics of the Back Surface Region of solar cells ............................................................................ 6

Solar Cell Simulation and Modelling ................................................................................................... 7

3D Numerical Simulation ................................................................................................................ 7

Quokka ............................................................................................................................................ 8

QScell .............................................................................................................................................. 9

Semi-analytical modelling of advanced solar cell structures .......................................................... 9

Silicon Materials & Characterisation ................................................................................................. 10

Surface Passivation ........................................................................................................................... 11

Atomic Layer Deposition ............................................................................................................... 11

Sputtering...................................................................................................................................... 12

PECVD ............................................................................................................................................ 12

Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapour Deposition .................................................................... 13

Solar Cell Technology ........................................................................................................................ 13

Sliver Solar Cells ............................................................................................................................ 13

Industrial Solar Cells ...................................................................................................................... 14

Laser Processing ............................................................................................................................ 14

Back Contact Cells ......................................................................................................................... 16

Modules & Systems........................................................................................................................... 17

Urban Concentrators .................................................................................................................... 17

Micro PV Modules ......................................................................................................................... 19

Asian Supergrid ............................................................................................................................. 20


Research Areas Part 2: Solar Thermal Energy ....................................................................................... 21

Solar Cooling ..................................................................................................................................... 21

Solar Dish Experimentation .............................................................................................................. 22

Control-oriented modelling and characterisation ............................................................................ 22

Concentrator Optical Characterisation ............................................................................................. 22

Heliostat Cost Reduction................................................................................................................... 23

Receiver design ................................................................................................................................. 23

Design of 45kWe High-Flux Solar Simulator ..................................................................................... 23

Solar thermochemical CO2 capture .................................................................................................. 24

Outlook ................................................................................................................................................. 25

Photovoltaics..................................................................................................................................... 25

Solar Thermal Power and Fuels ........................................................................................................ 26

External Advisory Committee ............................................................................................................... 28

Membership ...................................................................................................................................... 28

Funding ................................................................................................................................................. 29

Publications ........................................................................................................................................... 30

Journals ............................................................................................................................................. 30

Conference Papers ............................................................................................................................ 34

Book Chapters ................................................................................................................................... 37


Dr Niraj Lal gave two shows on “The Science of Electricity” at Questacon during Canberra’s “Very Big Weekend” Centenary Celebrations.

Introduction Professor Andrew Blakers and Associate Professor Wojciech Lipiński

Research School of Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Australian National University

Solar energy is available in vast quantities over unlimited time scales, can be harvested with minimal environmental cost using only very common materials, and has almost no military or security issues. No other energy technology comes close to these attributes. The major approaches to solar energy conversion, the photo-electric and photo-thermal pathways, are investigated at ANU to advance the photovoltaic cell, space heating and cooling, thermal receiver, thermochemical reactor and solar concentrator technologies as well as the related fundamental science and engineering disciplines.

Dramatic recent reductions in the cost of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy makes it competitive with electricity from the grid for most domestic and commercial users throughout the world. Full cost competitiveness with new generation capacity for production of wholesale electricity is not far off. Wind and PV comprises most new generation capacity in Australia. The implications of these trends for energy and greenhouse policy are substantial, and they auger well for a bright future for the solar industry. PV production capacity has surged far ahead of demand, which has led to an intense price war and a wave of bankruptcies of high profile PV companies. A profound industry shakeout and consolidation is underway, after decades of continuous growth. Technological innovation in PV is being squeezed by the need of companies to focus on survival, which may delay future price reductions. This has the knock-on effect of restricting opportunities for commercial engagement.

The field of solar thermal energy has witnessed an unprecedented number of demonstration and commercial power plants planned for construction or taken into operation worldwide, with 40% growth in installed capacity since 2005. ANU-based studies address improving the receiver efficiency and overcoming the solar intermittency. Concepts for solar thermal production of chemical fuels and commodities such as solar gasification, redox water splitting and CO2 capture are the pillars of the new solar thermochemistry R&D program at ANU.

The year 2012 was a year of remarkable research and funding success. Our research activities are summarized in the following pages. Twelve people won personal research fellowships. $3.5 million in new grants were won for solar research, primarily from the Australian Solar Institute and the Australian Research Council. Additionally, we are core members in two 8-year funding programs in partnership with other academic and research institutions and companies: the $32 million PV Centre, valued at $6.4 million for ANU, and the $35 million Australian Solar Thermal Initiative (ASTRI), valued at $5.5 million for ANU. The Australian Solar Institute finished operations in 2012 and has been folded into the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. We look forward to working with a wide range of partners in undertaking basic and commercially oriented research and education.


Our Team

Academics BLAKERS, Andrew Professor CUEVAS, Andres Professor CATCHPOLE, Kylie Associate Professor LIPIŃSKI, Wojciech Associate Professor MACDONALD, Daniel Associate Professor WEBER, Klaus Associate Professor MCINTOSH, Keith Research Fellow, Adjunct WEIMER, Alan Professor, Adjunct DENNIS, Mike Lecturer PYE, John Lecturer COVENTRY, Joe Research Fellow EVERETT, Vernie Research Fellow FRANKLIN, Evan Research Fellow STOCKS, Matt Research Fellow WHITE, Tom Research Fellow BAKER-FINCH, Simeon Postdoctoral Fellow

HARGREAVES, Stuart Postdoctoral Fellow SHALAV, Avi Postdoctoral Fellow SUH, Dongchul Postdoctoral Fellow THOMSON, Andy Postdoctoral Fellow WANG, Eric Postdoctoral Fellow YANG , Xinbo Postdoctoral Fellow ZIN, Soe Postdoctoral Fellow BI, Qunyu ASI Postdoctoral Fellow BOOKER, Kate ASI Postdoctoral Fellow FELL, Andreas ASI Postdoctoral Fellow GRANT, Nicholas ASI Postdoctoral Fellow LAL, Niraj ASI Postdoctoral Fellow ROUGIEUX, Fiacre ASI Postdoctoral Fellow THOMSEN, Elizabeth ASI Postdoctoral Fellow BADER, Roman Research Fellow BASCH, Angelika Visiting Fellow

Technical Services Team SAUNDERS, Mark Staff Coordinator CONDON, Bruce Technical Officer COTSELL, James Technical Officer JOE, Wie Technical Officer

DE CARITAT, Nina Laboratory Manager VELASCO, Beatriz Process Coordinator SKRYABIN, Igor Bus. Dev. Manager

Research Staff BERRY, Martin BRAUERS, Maureen BURGESS, Greg DAVIES, Erin FONG, Kean Chern HARVEY, Judith HOGAN, Rachel JONES, Christopher KAUFER, Martin KHO, Teng MANKELOW, Rowena

MCKEON, Josephine MIDDLETON, Robert MURIC-NESIC, Jelena NEBEL-JACOBSEN, Yona RAHMAN, Shakir SAMUNDSETT, Christian SURVE, Sachin VAGO, Nandor WILSON, Jonathan WU, Yiliang YU, Jun

PhD & MPhil Candidates ALLEN, Tom ASSELINEAU, Charles-Alexis BARUGKIN , Chog BLACK, Lachlan BULLOCK, James CHONG, Teck Kong CONG, Jin Jin CUMPSTON, Jeff DOEMLAND, Inga DUNN, Rebecca EGAN, Annie HOU, Liangzhuo (Peter) LIANG, Wensheng LIM, Siew LIU, Anyao MCKINLEY, Arni

NGUYEN, Hieu OSORIO MAYON, Azul PHANG, Pheng RATCLIFF, Tom SIO, Kelvin WALTER, Daniel WAN, Yimao WANG, Da WANG, Shannon XU, Peter YAN, Di ZAPATA, José ZHANG, Xinyu ZHENG, Peiting NILON, Tavalea


Research Areas Part 1: Photovoltaics Research in the following areas takes places within the Photovoltaic group.

Website: http://sun.anu.edu.au/

Nanophotonics Kylie Catchpole and Tom White

One on the major aims of nanophotonic for solar cells is achieving light trapping using far-field, or scattering, techniques. Over the last year we have made important progress in a number of areas relating to light trapping. Firstly we have developed a new technique called ‘Snow Globe Coating’ that provides a very effective method for achieving a scattering rear reflector for a solar cell. We have also demonstrated that a doubling of the short-circuit current can be achieved using a combination of metal nanoparticles and the snow globe coating method. The work was published in Applied Physics Letters and Progress in Photovoltaics.

We have shown theoretically that a rear reflector structure of silver nanoparticles and a metal mirror can achieve over 90% light trapped into the first diffracted order. We have also demonstrated experimentally that nanoimprinted titanium dioxide gratings can be used for both passivation and light trapping, and showed that effective scattering can be achieved over a broad range of the solar spectrum using a multi-disperse particle distribution.

In addition, we have calculated the efficiency limits of plasmon-assisted internal photo-emission for photovoltaic applications, and we have also published a major review of nanophotonic light trapping in solar cells, published in Journal of Applied Physics. Work in this area was presented at 4 invited talks in 2012, at the European Materials Research Society, the International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and the Materials Research Society Fall Meeting, and the Optical Society of America conference on Optics for Photovoltaics.

Figure 2: High-resolution photocurrent map of a thin-film solar cell coated with nanoparticles. Scale bar is 1 micron.

Figure 1: Resonances on nanoparticles can be used to trap light inside solar cells

http://sun.anu.edu.au/


Fundamentals

Highly doped silicon Di Yan, Andres Cuevas

In most silicon solar cells highly doped n+ and p+ regions are formed near the surfaces to suppress the concentration of one type of charge carrier and facilitate the selective transport of the other type towards an external circuit. To understand the physics of these highly doped regions it is necessary to take into account energy band gap narrowing (BGN) and Fermi-Dirac statistics. We have derived a new empirical expression for the BGN as a function of dopant concentration by measuring the thermal recombination current densities J0 of a broad range of n+ dopant concentration profiles prepared by phosphorus diffusion. This updated BGN will permit a more accurate modelling of silicon solar cells. For details see Di Yan and A. Cuevas, Empirical Determination of the Energy Band Gap Narrowing in Highly Doped n+ Silicon, Journal of Applied Physics 114, 044508 (2013).

Physics of the Back Surface Region of solar cells Andres Cuevas, Di Yan

Some of the terms currently used in solar cell technology, such as “emitter” and “Back Surface Field”, perpetuate old misconceptions about the role of the highly doped n+ and p+ regions commonly implemented near their front and back surfaces. We have reviewed the physics of the p+ back surface region of silicon solar cells and conclude that, whereas electric fields are important to describe equilibrium conditions, the main force behind carrier transport under illumination is the gradient of the carrier concentration itself, i.e. of the chemical potential. The function of the back p+ region in a photovoltaic device is to facilitate the transfer of holes towards the metal contact, while suppressing the concentration of electrons. An appropriate name for it is hole transport layer. Similarly, the function of the n+ region is to collect and transfer electrons to the front metal contact, and should be called electron transport layer. For details see A. Cuevas, Misconceptions and Misnomers in Solar Cells, IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, vol.3, pp. 916-923 (2013).

Figure 3: Energy bandgap narrowing as a function of dopant concentration in n-type silicon.

Figure 4: Cross-sectional diagram of an advanced silicon solar cell with Partial Rear Contacts.


Solar Cell Simulation and Modelling To understand how solar cells work it is necessary to model them theoretically. We do that using advanced 3D simulation programs, such as Sentaurus Device, as well as in-house tools such as QS Cell & Quokka.

3D Numerical Simulation Kean Fong

Synopsys Sentaurus package a full virtual fabrication environment, with tools providing process simulation capabilities such as modeling of diffusions, wet chemical etching, ion implant damage, up to the end of line analysis such as device simulation by resolving for light and dark I-V curves of complete cell designs, providing its efficiency, fill factor, and other key performance attributes. Advanced models for surface and bulk recombination, trapping, and physical phenomena affecting charge transport are fully accounted for, and models describing these effects are fully programmable.

Recent endeavour in high efficiency cell designs at the ANU necessitates evaluation of more complex designs in 3D. Sentaurus enables individual regions of a device to be examined and its effect on overall cell performance can be quantified, enabling detailed loss analysis and device optimization.

The flexibility to change physical models in the simulation make Sentaurus a valuable tool for the study of fundamental effects such as bandgap narrowing in heavily doped regions, mobility of charged carriers, and generation-recombination processes in a wide range of different semiconductor material.

Figure 6: 3D simulation of current density and current flow through a partial rear contact solar cell

Figure 5: Current crowding effect at small contacts regions.


Quokka Andreas Fell, Kean Fong, Keith McIntosh

In 2012 the 1D/2D/3D steady state solar cell simulator Quokka was developed by Andreas Fell1. It aims for fast simulation speed and high user friendliness, and is available together with a web-based input file generator on PVLighthouse.com.au.

Quokka solves the general semiconductor carrier transport equations based on the quasi-Fermi potentials in a simplified way. Those simplifications are namely conductive boundaries and quasi-neutrality, which are well-known to be valid for most typical silicon solar cell devices.

The conductive boundary approximation excludes highly doped surface regions from the solution domain. This greatly relaxes the need for fine meshing to resolve the doping profile and the space charge regions. The doped surfaces are rather modelled by a surface recombination current, typically defined by a recombination current pre-factor J0, as well as by lateral current transport within the boundary with the characteristic sheet resistance Rsh. Despite the boost in simulation speed due to the coarser mesh, J0e and Rsh are practically the most relevant input parameters for solar cell modelling, as they can be straightforward derived from experimental characterization.

The quasi-neutrality approximation assumes the electron and hole concentrations to be equal within the solution domain, i.e. the bulk. Quokka utilizes this by solving the set of semiconductor equations reduced to the two charge carrier transport equations only. This greatly improves numerical stability and the overall simulation speed.

The derived steady state model is implemented by a finite volume approach in Matlab®, utilizing a powerful inbuilt algorithm to solve the resulting nonlinear set of algebraic equations in a fast way. A license-free compiled version is available on PVLighthouse.com.au. Some main features of the released software are:

• Pre-defined layout for a partial rear contact (PRC) and all back contact (ABC) unit cell, with a variety of settable contact /doping patterns and dimensions

• Fully automated meshing with user-defined quality

1 A. Fell, "A Free and Fast Three-Dimensional/Two-Dimensional Solar Cell Simulator Featuring Conductive Boundary and Quasi-Neutrality Approximations," Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 60, pp. 733-738, 2013.

Figure 8: Example ABC Mesh

Figure 7: Example Simulation Result at MPP

http://www.pvlighthouse.com.au/



• Generation profile import from OPAL2 (advanced optics calculator on PVLighthouse.com.au) • Automated IV-curve sweep, open circuit and maximum power point finding • Full loss analysis (e.g. at maximum power point ) listing all recombination and resistive loss

contributions (by free energy loss analysis, FELA)

Advantages of Quokka compared to the state-of-the-art device simulator Sentaurus is the simulation speed, free availability, user friendliness and more practically relevant input parameters for doped surfaces. Other available similar implementations of the conductive boundary approach are PC2D, which is much slower and inflexible regarding the geometry, and CoBoGUI, which requires a COMSOL® license, both of them are currently restricted to two dimensions.

QScell Stuart Hargreaves, Di Yan, Andres Cuevas

QScell is a versatile program for the simulation of several characterisation techniques commonly used to determine the electronic properties of silicon wafers. In particular, it can model measurements of the effective carrier lifetime, photoluminescence spectra and complete I-V characteristics of solar cells. Recently the model has been expanded to 2D and 3D solar cell structures with Partial Rear Contacts. The corresponding Microsoft Excel spreadsheets are downloadable from our ANU web site.

Semi-analytical modelling of advanced solar cell structures Andres Cuevas

A geometric approach based on partitioning the Partial Rear Contact (PRC) solar cell in two distinct regions provides physical insight into the transport and recombination of electrons and holes and permits to optimize the device. The model can be applied to 2D (linear contacts) or 3D (point contacts) designs, and to solar cells with or without a locally-contacted dopant diffusion on the rear surface. A virtue of such geometric approach is that it establishes a link between analytical models and computer simulations, providing both physical insight and sufficient accuracy to optimise partial rear contact devices. For more details see A. Cuevas, J. Appl. Phys. 113, 164502 (2013).

Figure 9: Elementary unit of a PRC solar cell showing two distinct regions for the analysis of current flow (in this case holes) towards the localised contact at the rear.



Silicon Materials & Characterisation Dan Macdonald, Fiacre Rougieux, Sieu Pheng Phang, Siew Yee Lim, AnYao Liu, Hang Sio, Hieu Nguyen, Chang Sun

Our research in this area aims to understand the effects of defects and impurities in silicon solar cells, and to develop practical ways to reduce their impact, or remove them. This is important when using low-cost silicon materials for solar cells, such as multicrystalline silicon wafers, or solar-grade silicon feedstocks, since these materials always contain significant quantities of unwanted impurities. The unwanted impurities of most interest are: dopants (such as B, P and Al), which are very difficult to remove during purification; metals (such as Fe, Cr, Ni etc), which can create strong recombination centres; and light elements (such as O, C and N), which may create defects that cause recombination or shunting. Crystal defects such as grain boundaries and dislocations also play an important role, and can interact with the impurities, for example, by acting as preferred sites for precipitation of metals.

Defects are also likely to play a key role in limiting the lifetime in very high quality wafers used for the highest efficiency solar cells. In this case the most important defects are related to intrinsic species such as lattice vacancies and silicon self-interstitials, and their interactions with oxygen, carbon and nitrogen.

Some key topics which we are currently working on include:

• Development of sensitive, spatially resolved methods for detecting dopants and impurities in silicon wafers.

• Studying the relative recombination activity of dissolved or precipitated metals. • Removal of metallic impurities such as Fe by heavily doped surface diffusions – a process

known as ‘gettering’. We are especially interested in gettering of metals by boron diffusions, which are required for the development n-type multicrystalline silicon solar cells.

• Studying the impact of hydrogenation on dissolved and precipitated metals, and on crystal defects such as dislocations and grain boundaries.

• The use of Photoluminescence imaging and Photoluminescence Spectroscopy to study defects and impurities in silicon wafers.

• Understanding the structure and evolution of the boron-oxygen defect, especially in relation to compensated silicon wafers.

• Understanding the impact and behaviour of intrinsic defects such as vacancy-oxygen pairs and vacancy-nitrogen complexes in very high lifetime silicon wafers.

Figure 10 Dopant concentration images extracted from photoluminescence images. (a) 0.11-Ω.cm phosphorus doped FZ silicon wafer. (b) 0.21-Ω.cm boron-doped FZ silicon wafer.


Surface Passivation

Atomic Layer Deposition Dongchul Suh, Klaus Weber

Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is a process whereby dielectric materials are deposited a monolayer at a time. The process therefore allows very precise control over the layer thickness and results in excellent thickness uniformity. ALD is an attractive process for a variety of applications in the fabrication of solar cells.

Work in the last few years has demonstrated that the deposition of aluminium dioxide or alumina allows extremely good surface passivation to be achieved at low deposition and process temperatures. Of particular interest are combinations of alumina with other materials such as silicon nitride or titanium dioxide, which creates stacks that can exhibit excellent passivation of all types of silicon surfaces, as well as superior optical and chemical properties. ALD is particularly is particularly well suited for this application, since the precise layer control allows unprecedented control over the all aspects of the properties of the deposited stack. Amongst other results, recent work has demonstrated Al2O3 / TiO2 stacks with levels of surface passivation that enable cell open circuit voltages in excess of 740mV while maintaining optimal optical properties for a single layer antireflection coating.

For details see: D. Suh, K. Weber, Effective silicon surface passivation by atomic layer deposited Al2O3/TiO2 stacks, physica status solidi (RRL) – Rapid Research Letters, (2013).

The precise control over layer thickness and the ability to deposit a variety of materials in the same reactor make ALD attractive for several other applications. The ability to deposit very thin, precisely controlled layers of oxides, including conductive oxides, opens the way for the fabrication of passivated contacts, where a suitable thin layer of oxide is interposed between the silicon and the metal at the contact regions, in order to impede the flow of minority carriers across the oxide dielectric without significantly decreasing the flow of majority carriers. Such contacts can reduce recombination losses and simplify cell fabrication sequences. For details see J. Bullock, D. Yan, A. Cuevas, Passivation of aluminium–n+ silicon contacts for solar cells by ultrathin Al2O3 and SiO2 dielectric layers, physica status solidi (RRL) – Rapid Research Letters, (2013). Further, the ability to deposit monolayers of different dielectric materials allows the creation of coatings featuring a graded refractive index. Such coatings enable reflection losses to be substantially reduced compared to single or double layer antireflection coatings.


Sputtering Xinyu Zhang, Stuart Hargreaves, Andres Cuevas

Significant progress has been made at ANU with the use of sputtering to deposit passivating films on crystalline silicon. These films include aluminium oxide (Al2O3) and hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H), and sputtering has potential advantages over other techniques – it is cheap and simple to implement on an industrial scale, avoids the use of potentially dangerous precursor gases, and is compatible with many existing processes.

Although sputtered passivation has received little attention in photovoltaics until now, our ongoing research has identified the deposition conditions and parameters required for effective passivation, with high carrier lifetimes measured on n-type and p-type wafers with sputtered films of both materials. Lifetimes of several milliseconds have been achieved, implying high device efficiencies, which are needed to remain competitive in the current marketplace. For details see: X. Zhang, A. Cuevas, Plasma hydrogenated, reactively sputtered aluminium oxide for silicon surface passivation, physica status solidi (RRL) – Rapid Research Letters, (2013); 7: 619-622.

With funding from the Australian Solar Institute / ARENA through the ANU PV Core project, further expansions to the sputtering facilities will be made in 2013, facilitating the study of multi-layer film stacks and heterojunction cell structures.

PECVD Yimao Wan, James Bullock, Andrew Thomson

Anti-reflection coatings and surface passivating films have been under continual development. In particular we have worked on the PECVD silicon nitride films to better understand how they can be optimised for high efficiency solar cells. We have shown that films can be generated with both low absorption and excellent surface passivation. Additionally we have performed an optimisation matrix of the films to better understand the influence of deposition conditions on the resultant film. Further we have consider the impact of these films on both textured and planar surfaces. We hope these studies will lead to the advancement of our laboratories ABC solar cells. For details see: Y. Wan.; McIntosh, K. R.; Thomson, A. F.; Cuevas, A.; "Low Surface Recombination Velocity by Low-Absorption Silicon Nitride on c-Si," IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, vol. 3, pp. 554-559, 2013.

Figure 11: Injection dependent lifetime measurements for optimised hydrogenated and non-hydrogenated sputtered AlOx films,as well as ALD coated control samples.


Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapour Deposition Lachlan Black, Thomas Allen, Andres Cuevas, Simeon Baker-Finch, Keith McIntosh

The ANU team has experimentally demonstrated that APCVD (Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapour Deposition) of Al2O3 can provide excellent passivation of crystalline silicon surfaces. This is the first time that the APCVD technique is convincingly shown to be a real alternative to the more complex and expensive surface passivation techniques of PECVD and ALD. For details see L. E. Black and K. R. McIntosh, Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 202107 (2012).

In collaboration with ISFH we have verified the stability of the APCVD films on p- and n-type substrates when subjected to thermal cycles typical of the “firing” of industrial screen printed metal contacts. The positive outcome of these experiments has very important repercussions, since it proves that the APCVD films can be immediately adopted by the PV industry as an alternative to more expensive ALD and PECVD already adopted by some companies.

For details see L.E. Black, T. Allen, A. Cuevas, K.R. McIntosh, B. Veith, J. Schmidt, Thermal stability of silicon surface passivation by APCVD Al2O3, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 2013, to be published.

Solar Cell Technology

Sliver Solar Cells Evan Franklin, Matthew Stocks, Klaus Weber, Andrew Blakers, Kate Booker, Maureen Brauers, Erin Davies, Rowena Mankelow, Shakir Rahman, Jun Yu, Dongchul Suh

SLIVER technology is used to manufacture thin crystalline silicon-based solar cells and modules. It allows substantial decreases in both silicon material and cell manufacturing costs

The project aims to further improve the cost competitiveness of SLIVER technologies, through simplification of the cell fabrication proves and further improvements to the cell conversion efficiency. The project makes extensive use of the advanced manufacturing and characterisation equipment purchased with an ASI foundation grant, which has raised

Figure 13: A SLIVER wafer following groove etching. At this stage the wafer contains thousands of individual SLIVER cells.

Source: Transform Solar

Figure 12: Schematic diagram of aluminium oxide film formation by Atmospheric Preassure Chemical Vapour Deposition.


the level of versatility, sophistication and compatibility with industrial processes of the ANU photovoltaics facilities.

A major plank of the research is the development of cells on n type silicon. The use of n type silicon allows the achievement of higher efficiencies through better material quality, which translates to higher cell voltages. This research has yielded cells with open circuit voltages up to 695mV, demonstrating the excellent material quality and surface passivation that can be achieved with industrial material and processes.

A further key aspect of high efficiency SLIVER cells is the texturing of the cell surfaces, in order to ensure effective light trapping. A novel method of light trapping has been developed and applied to SLIVER cells, with demonstrated light trapping close to the theoretical limit.

Industrial Solar Cells Dan Macdonald, Christian Samundsett, Josephine McKeon, Teng Kho, Yimao Wan, Andres Cuevas

We are developing high efficiency industrial n-type silicon solar cells together with our partner Trina Solar. This work is part of a $4.3 million project supported by the Australian Solar Institute / ARENA. The project aims to achieve 20% efficient front-junction n-type monocrystalline silicon solar cells that can be mass produced using standard techniques at low cost. These cells have dielectric passivation layers on both the front and rear sides, and takes advantage of the higher carrier lifetimes found in n-type wafers compared to typical p-type wafers made for solar cells. These higher lifetimes are primarily caused by the absence of the well-known boron-oxygen defect, which significantly degrades the performance of standard p-type monocrystalline silicon solar cells. The project also aims to develop 19% efficiency on p-type multicrystalline silicon wafers using standard screen-printing technology. The project runs from April 2011 until April 2014, and is on-track for successful completion.

Laser Processing Evan Franklin, Klaus Weber, Sachin Surve, Andreas Fell, Dan Walter

The laser processing research group encompasses a broad area of activities, each targeting the use of lasers to locally process silicon in such a way that will enable high efficiency cell concepts to be realized using industrially feasible approaches. High efficiency cell concepts require regions of local doping, local contacting and very well-controlled feature alignment, necessitating complex multi-step fabrication and high-temperature processes. The use of precision controlled laser systems allows these

Figure 14: A SLIVER wafer following the deposition of metal to form the electrical contacts to the cells.

Source: Transform Solar

Figure 15: The head of the Laser Chemical Process (LCP) system, showing the thin jet of liquid within which the green laser light is guided to the work piece surface.


processes to be replaced with simple one or two-step localized laser doping or laser ablation treatments. The development and characterization of such processes, and the subsequent integration into cell fabrication, is the focus of the laser processing research group.

Laser doping

Laser doping relies on localized laser irradiation at the silicon surface which results in surface layer melting and re-crystallisation and simultaneous introduction of dopant atoms into the melt, usually from a deposited dopant source or via a laser-coupled liquid-jet source. The target solar cell applications are heavily doped contacts in a selective emitter cell design, local back surface field for rear side contacting, local junction formation and contacting, or ultimately both emitter and base contact formation to realize an all-low-temperature-processing solar cell. For most applications, an ideal laser doping process results in homogenous, deep doping which enables good ohmic contacts to be formed with no damage and minimal local recombination. The laser processing group is able to achieve heavy and deep doping using a range of lasers (wavelengths and pulse durations) and using dry optics or liquid-jet coupling.

Laser ablation processes

In solar cell fabrication, an ideal laser ablation process selectively removes a film (eg. a dielectric) from the target surface, while resulting in no removal

of or damage to the underlying silicon. Such a process can be employed to create precise openings for metal contact formation or for further processing steps such as ion implantation or furnace diffusion. Ablation processes are being developed at ANU using a deep UV (248nm) laser system, capable of removing individual films and film stacks as thin as a few tens of nanometers without any significant substrate damage or silicon removal. Cells with very good characteristics are now being fabricated using this process. This image shows the

Local feature characterization techniques

Figure 16: 3D SIMS of phosphorous doped lines created using a liquid-jet laser (red areas represent heaviest doping, up to 1021 dopant atoms per cm3).

Figure 17: Laser ablated contact openings (each about 25 x 25 μm in size) along the spline of a sliver solar cell.

Figure 18 - A false colour photoluminescence (PL) map of a wafer with laser processed regions; different laser parameters lead to different PL intensities and hence different quality laser doped regions. The use of PL images together with modelling allows the fast assessment of many different parameters.


One of the challenges associated with laser processing is that it is quite difficult to adequately assess and characterize the fundamental impacts of a laser process. Many well-known methods for characterization of material quality (photo-conductance measurements, photo-luminescence (PL) imaging for example) cannot resolve small features which are typical of laser processing. The laser research group is developing methods that enable techniques such as PL imaging to be extended to extract properties of locally processed regions. The colour image shown here maps the implied VOC for a range of different laser parameters (each square box, referenced to the unprocessed areas), indicating solar cell open circuit voltage that could be achieved for laser doped contact openings.

Another technique being developed is Scanning Electron Microscope Dopant Contrast Imaging (SEMDCI) for rapid assessment of laser doped regions. This is a quick method for analyzing depth and breadth of doping, while at the same time doing SEM imaging of a doped region. In the image shown here the laser doped region is indicated by the light contrast region within the silicon; the remnant dopant film is also clearly visible peeling away from the top surface.

Back Contact Cells Andrew Blakers, Kean Chern Fong, Evan Franklin, Keith McIntosh, Matthew Stocks, Soe Zin, Teng Kho, Da Wang

In 2010, the leading PV manufacturer Trina Solar and the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) signed a research agreement to develop high-efficiency All-Back Contact (ABC) silicon wafer solar cells. The research agreement targets to realise up to 21.5% production efficiency and up to 23.5% laboratory test efficiency.

The involvement of the ANU in the project is to develop laboratory-sized (16cm2) ABC silicon solar cells on n-type wafer substrates, targeting to an efficiency of 23.5% within two years of project commencement.

The quest of the research collaboration between Trina Solar, SERIS, and ANU to develop high-efficiency ABC silicon wafer solar cells is driven by the fact that the cost of the silicon wafer material is still significant in a photovoltaic module, and the photovoltaic industry is always in search of thinner wafers and different solar cell manufacturing techniques, with the aim of further driving down

Figure 20: Cross-sectional device structure of ABC silicon wafer solar cell

Figure 21: IV performance of ABC cells measured by 16cm2 and 13cm2 aperture masks

Figure 19 - SEM Doping Contrast Image of a laser doped cross section. The heavily laser doped region is slightly brighter than the more lightly doped sample.


costs. Rear contact solar cells offer the opportunity to increase cell efficiency. Key advantages associated with the ABC solar cell design (Figure 3) involve no optical shading loss with front metal grid, independent optimisation of surface passivation and optics at the front, large metal coverage on the rear that minimises series resistance, improved rear optics, simpler cell interconnecting system, and ease of adopting n-type Si, which is resilient to metal and oxygen impurities.

The collaboration with SERIS and Trina Solar is progressing well, and ANU has already developed ABC silicon wafer cells with one-sun efficiencies of 21.73% and 22.45% (Figure 4) on FZ material, when measured with the aperture areas of 16cm2 (includes busbars) and 13cm2 (excludes busbars) respectively.

Modules & Systems

Urban Concentrators Liz Thomsen, Vernie Everett, Judy Harvey, Rob Middleton, Yiliang Wu, Andrew Blakers

A hybrid linear concentrating photovoltaic – thermal (CPV-T) system designed specifically for rooftop applications has been jointly developed by Chromasun and The Australian National University. The development of this micro-concentrator (MCT) system was motivated by the combined benefits of the on-site generation of both thermal and electrical energy. Hybrid systems have the potential to operate with a greater combined efficiency and reduced footprint than separate, independent PV and solar hot water systems.

Optimisation of the original MCT system design is presently underway, along with the development of new concepts that operate more efficiently and also deliver thermal energy at higher temperature. The value of thermal energy is related to the temperature at which it is delivered, with a strong non-linear relationship, and clearly defined threshold values directly related to the particular technology that uses the energy. For example, one type of double effect absorption chiller may require thermal energy to be delivered at 125 ˚C, with no amount of energy at, say, 105 ˚C being of any value whatsoever. Therefore, it is important to tune and match systems so that the real market value of the energy can be quantified.

The hybrid receivers already developed produce both electricity and hot water, suitable for domestic applications. However, with integrated hybrid receiver designs, there is a compromise between the electrical efficiency (which increases as cell temperature decreases), and the thermal output value (which is a non-linear stepwise function of temperature) with the general desire to have fluid output temperature as high as possible.

Figure 22: Microconcentrator test rig


ANU (in collaboration with RMIT, UNSW, CSIRO, Chromasun, and NEP) is in the design and development phase of constructing a receiver prototype which allows each component (PV and thermal) to operate separately under optimal conditions. The goal of this project is to provide high temperature (150˚C) fluid output from the thermal component, without unduly compromising the efficiency and performance of the PV component. The key technical theme of this project is to use spectral splitting to thermally decouple the PV cells from the circulating fluid.

There are major challenges with this particular high temperature hybrid development, including materials selection, materials stability under concentrated sunlight at high temperatures and high UV exposure, and thermal and optical stability of spectrally-selective absorbers and thermal transfer fluids. Furthermore, in order to ensure commercial success of the final design, it is imperative that material, manufacture, and reliability meet market requirements.

At present, two basic receiver design options are being pursued concurrently. Broadly, these two concepts can be described as the selective absorption configuration, where the receiver elements are optically coupled, but thermally isolated; and the beam-splitting optics configuration, where the thermal and electrical components are spacially separated.

The selective absorption configuration consists of a thermal receiver, which absorbs the spectral components of the concentrated sunlight outside of the near infra red range, being placed in front of a photovoltaic receiver. In this way, the photovoltaic receiver only receives the near infra red light, the spectral region where silicon solar cells operate with highest efficiency, while the remaining light is used to produce thermal energy. The thermal energy is removed from the receiver using a thermal transfer fluid. This configuration has the benefit of being simple to construct and operate, and does not require any additional optical components. However, it does place severe constraints on the selection of materials.

The beam-splitting optics configuration uses reflective and refractive optics to direct the near infra red spectral component of the concentrated sunlight light directly to the PV receiver. The remaining light is directed to the thermal receiver, where it is converted into thermal energy. This concept requires additional optics, which can be quite expensive; two separate receiver structures and mounts – which introduces additional shading losses. However, this design does mean that the thermal receiver does not need to have specific optical transmission features. This is a significant benefit.

Both concepts are being explored through modelling and experiments, and prototypes are under construction for further test and development.

Figure 23: Microconcentrator receiver section


Micro PV Modules Andrew Blakers, Igor Skryabin, Vernie Everett, Chris Jones, Martin Berry, Jonathan Wilson

The demand for miniature light-weight photovoltaic modules is underpinned by unprecedented growth in digital consumer electronics, where widespread reliance on batteries substantially limits the capabilities and features that modern semiconductor technology can offer to consumers. Applications include smartphone chargers, tourist survival kits, UAV, and autonomous wireless sensors. In addition to standard performance parameters such as high efficiency, low cost and long-life, miniature modules are also required to have high power-to-weight ratio.

Currently most of commercial miniature solar modules are thin-film PV, typically a-Si.

CSES miniature PV modules utilizing SLIVER solar cells demonstrate an unmatched combination of very high power to weight ratio, durability due to the use of thin single crystalline silicon substrates, and robustness due to a highly parallel-connected sub-module configuration. The latter requirement is made possible by the small size of each SLIVER cell, and is essential in mobile applications. The SLIVER module can be camouflaged.

Current development of Flexible Sliver Solar Modules is sponsored by the Australian Department of Defense through its Capability Technology Development program.

The objective is to integrate the modules into a soldier power system used to power a number of electronic devices used by a dismounted soldier. In a parallel project we are trialing the SLIVER modules for UAV applications.

In 2013 technical activities were focused on the development of advanced interconnecting and laminating techniques to form miniature modules capable of passing stringent defense requirements , including many thousands of flexing cycles, the ability to survive after local puncturing, very high power-to-weight ratio (300W/kg achieved), water resistance and temperature shock resistance. The demonstration to defense is planned for March 2014.

Figure 26: Flexible sliver modules can be wraped around a small cylnder.

Figure 25: Flexible Solar Panel for integration with soldier’s power system

Figure 24: ANU Lightweight highly efficient mobile phone charger


Asian Supergrid Andrew Blakers

A glance at the South East Asian page of a world atlas shows a long and narrow chain of islands between Australia and the Malay Peninsula. Major desert regions exist to the north (central China) and south (central and north west Australia). This dipole suggests the possibility of transporting large quantities of solar electricity to South East Asia via high voltage cables from large solar farms located in Australia, and solar and wind farms in China.

Our initial study explored the possibility of the supply of solar electricity by a high voltage DC (HVDC) power line from northern Australia to four SE Asian countries. The line could run via Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. The following major aspects were considered: Current and future electricity demand in Southeast Asia; Energy options for Southeast Asia; Solar electricity generation in Australia and SE Asia; Transportation of the electricity via HVDC cable; Short term storage of a substantial fraction of the generated solar energy locally within Australia in order to even out the load on the HVDC cable and to mitigate solar energy intermittency.

Our study modeled a Southeast Asian electricity system in which one third of demand in 2050 is met from Australian solar energy, one third from indigenous solar energy, and one third from conventional energy sources. Large scale generation and transmission of solar electricity to SE Asia from Australia appears to be both technically and economically feasible over the next 40 years. Despite the expense and losses incurred in long distance transmission of Australian solar electricity, it is competitive with indigenous solar electricity because of high insolation levels in Australia. Supplementation of locally produced electricity with power from Australia, together with substantial storage, would allow a very high solar electricity fraction. The high voltage DC transmission backbone would also facilitate distribution of non-dispatchable electricity from renewable sources generated in South East Asia.

Figure 27: Google Earth image of a possible Asian supergrid


Research Areas Part 2: Solar Thermal Energy Research in the following areas takes place in the Solar Thermal Energy Group in the Research School of Engineering.

Website: http://solar-thermal.anu.edu.au/

Solar Cooling Mike Dennis, Inga Doemland, Liangzhuo Hou, Xiaolin Wang

Solar driven cooling systems appear to be an attractive technology for Australia. A solar cooling system is able to provide comfort cooling during summer while reducing loading on electricity grids. A solar cooling system is also able to provide winter comfort heating and water heating as by-products.

Our research aims to develop cost-effective solar cooling using third generation ejector based heat pump cooling systems. An ejector is a heat driven compressor and so thermally driven heat pumps are able to exploit a wide range of low grade heat sources.

The group’s flagship project is the development of world first variable geometry ejectors. This has been an outstanding research challenge for ejector researchers, first posed in 1996. We have tested prototype devices and have reached successful proof of concept. This technology unlocks several constraints that prevented first and second generation ejectors from progressing to practical products. We have also developed a novel mass manufacturing method for ejectors in collaboration with international partners.

Solar-driven devices must address the challenge of solar intermittency. For air conditioning application, service is often required into the evening. A new gas hydrate based cold storage technology is under development with the aim of producing a safe, low cost and compact cold store for air conditioners. The storage technique is based on the freezing of water at temperatures between 5°C and 12°C.

Over the coming year, we plan to test a range of enhancements to our ejector technology and further progress our cold storage technology to prototype heat exchangers and storage devices.

Figure 29: Cold store heat exchanger

Figure 28: Variable geometry ejector

http://solar-thermal.anu.edu.au/


Solar Dish Experimentation Greg Burgess, José Zapata

The ANU solar dish, called SG4, is 500 m² in area, making it the largest paraboloidal dish solar concentrator in the world (Fig. 20). The dish has been designed for cost-effective commercial production and use in large scale solar thermal power plants.

The SG4 dish concentrates the sun’s radiation over 2200 times and can drive high-temperature processes such as steam for power generation and chemical reactions for fuel production.

As part of a joint project with CSIRO and Sandia in the United States, funded by the Australian Solar Institute (now ARENA), the Solar Thermal Group is investigating more efficient designs for steam receivers. Experimental ‘on-sun’ runs with the dish and existing receiver provide valuable baseline data about the dependence of receiver efficiency on parameters such as operating temperature, wind speed, and sun tracking error.

Control-oriented modelling and characterisation José Zapata, John Pye, Jochen Trumpf, Greg Burgess

The SG4 dish system produces high temperature steam, suitable for power generation with conventional steam turbines. This process is complex and depends on ambient conditions, which makes efficient operation difficult. Data from 'on-sun' experimental runs is used to formulate control-oriented models, which characterise the transient relation between steam temperature, ambient conditions and operating variables. These models will allow advanced control strategies to maintain efficient steam generation under variable ambient conditions.

Concentrator Optical Characterisation Greg Burgess

A range of techniques are used and have been developed for measuring the optical properties of solar concentrators. Photogrammetry uses a set of photographs of an object taken at a range of viewing angles to measure shape with a high degree of accuracy (Fig. 21). A research paper on the application of photogrammetry to solar concentrators won an award from the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing for the best practical paper of 20122.

2 MR Shortis and G Burgess. Photogrammetric Monitoring of the Construction of a Solar Energy Dish Concentrator. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 2012, 78, 519–527.

Figure 30: ANU Big Dish

Figure 31: Photogrammetric characterization of the ANU Big Dish.


Heliostat Cost Reduction Joseph Coventry, John Pye

The Solar Thermal Group has conducted a review of the state-of-the-art in heliostat design, as part of the Australian Solar Thermal Research Initiative (ASTRI). Deep cost reduction is required to ensure solar tower technology becomes competitive, and to achieve the aggressive LCOE targets of ASTRI and other programs like the U.S. Sunshot program. The review examines trends at both a system level and at an individual collector level, to make sense of where the greatest potential for cost reduction lies. It includes topics such as optimal heliostat size, heliostat aerodynamics and wind loads, and design factors influencing manufacturing and assembly cost, and it examines the state-of-the art in heliostat componentry, such as mirrors, tracking systems, communication systems and structure.

Receiver design John Pye, Charles-Alexis Asselineau, Ehsan Abbasi, Greg Burgess, Rachel Hogan, Martin Kaufer, Adam McIntosh, John Mudie

Cavity receivers for high-temperature solar thermal concentrators are studied for their potential to improve overall energy collection and utilisation efficiency in CSP systems, in collaboration with CSIRO and Sandia National Laboratories. Experiments using electrically-heated analogous cavities are run to determine the effect of cavity shape on convective heat loss (Fig. 22). In parallel, computational fluid dynamics simulations are conducted using OpenFOAM software to generalise laboratory results and to investigate a broader range of novel receiver geometries and novel active methods to reduce receiver heat loss. Thermal imaging and hyperspectral imaging are being applied to improve the accuracy of methods used to estimate radiative and reflective heat loss. Coupled radiosity and Monte-Carlo ray-tracing analyses are employed to determine an optimal axisymmetric cavity shape for the radiation-only case, which is increasingly dominant as receiver temperature increases. Full-scale experimental data is gathered currently from the SG4 Big Dish at ANU, and a new prototype receiver will be constructed and tested in 2014.

Design of 45kWe High-Flux Solar Simulator Roman Bader, Sophia Haussener (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Wojciech Lipiński

A 45 kWe high-flux solar simulator consisting of multiple identical radiation units of common focus, each comprised of a short-arc xenon lamp close-coupled to a precision reflector in the shape of a truncated ellipsoid is designed jointly between ANU and EPFL. The size and shape of each reflector is optimized by a Monte Carlo ray-tracing analysis to achieve high transfer efficiency of radiation from the arcs to the common focal plane and desired flux distribution. This unique facility is ideally suited for testing solar receivers, reactors and materials under extreme radiative fluxes and weather-independent conditions. It will complement the portfolio of high-flux solar test facilities at the ANU Solar Thermal Group and constitute the central experimental platform for the new solar

Figure 32: Experimental evaluation of natural convection losses from an open-cavity receiver.


thermochemistry R&D program being established in the Solar Thermal Group, with the commencement planned in the first half of 2014.

Solar thermochemical CO2 capture Leanne Matthews (University of Minnesota/ANU), Terrence W. Simon (University of Minnesota), Wojciech Lipiński

CO2 capture technologies are the key to closing the carbon cycle. While industrial-scale technologies already exist or are in the demonstration phase, also in conjunction with CO2 sequestration, they typically rely on non-renewable sources of energy needed to extract CO2, further increasing the net amount of CO2 produced. Energy requirements for capturing CO2 rapidly increase with decreasing concentration of CO2 in the input stream. The work requirement for CO2 concentration increases three-fold for CO2 concentration decreasing from 15% to 0.03%, the latter corresponding to the atmospheric concentration. For comparison, work that can be extracted from hydrocarbon fuels using an ideal fuel cell typically varies between 395 kJ per mole of emitted CO2 (carbon) and 818 kJ per mole of emitted CO2 (methane). The CO2 capture project will demonstrate efficient solar thermochemical CO2 capture for production of renewable hydrocarbon fuels using the solar-driven carbonation–calcination thermochemical looping realized in a novel solar receiver-reactor. The main challenges to make the proposed technology viable, efficient, and ready for large-scale industrial application include overcoming CO2 uptake rate limitations in the carbonation reaction, maximizing the solar energy transfer to the calcination reaction, matching the carbonation and calcination reactions for their coupled operation at maximum yield for both steps, and realizing the cycle in a single solar thermochemical reactor.


Outlook

Solar energy is special—vast, ubiquitous and indefinitely sustainable. Direct solar energy conversion technologies include photovoltaics (PV) and solar thermal. Solar energy use relies on common materials, has minimal security and military risks; has high theoretical conversion efficiency (15–80%); and has minimal environmental impact over unlimited time scales. Australia receives 20,000 times more solar energy each year than all fossil fuel use combined.

Renewable energy technologies can eliminate fossil fuels within a few decades, allowing a low-carbon energy future. In many parts of the world, including Australia, wind, PV and CSP are now the dominant new generation technologies installed each year. In Australia, the rate of installation of wind and PV is not far below the level required to avoid ever having to build another fossil fuel power station. In other words, as fossil fuel power stations reach the end of their normal service life they would be replaced by new wind and solar capacity. The market fundamentals are such that Australia is quite likely to transition naturally to a wind and solar dominated electricity system over the next 25 years. The widespread shift of land transport to electricity and industrial progress in production of synthetic hydrocarbon fuels, for both private cars and public transport, will allow large reductions in consumption of fossil fuels for transport—essentially, solar and wind based electricity and synthetic petrol, diesel and kerosene substitutes for fossil oil and gas.

Solar is extremely democratic in that most countries have a vast and inexhaustible solar energy supply, which improves energy security in the long term. A swift renewable energy transition is substantially assisted by carbon pricing and renewable energy targets. Support for such policies is linked to perceptions of the importance of ameliorating climate change. The rise of distributed solar systems undermines the long-established business models of energy utilities. Powerful interests in the mining, electricity and manufacturing sectors are threatened by the rise of wind and solar. Furthermore, large falls in the price of gas from unconventional sources on world markets is possible, which may reduce the growth of renewable energy deployment. Conversely, Australian domestic gas prices may double, to world market prices, which will help wind and solar. In the near term, technological innovation in solar technologies is being squeezed by the need of companies to focus on survival, which may delay future price reductions.

The longer term future of the solar industry is driven by the fundamental equation that solar is essentially unconstrained by environmental considerations, material supply, fuel supply, land requirements, security considerations, or indeed anything other than price—and price is now (or will soon be) competitive nearly everywhere outside far northern latitudes. Wind energy is less ubiquitous than solar, but also has a bright future.

Photovoltaics The world solar market is dominated by PV, and most of the world’s PV market is serviced by crystalline silicon solar cells. Moe than 110 gigawatts of PV has now been installed, and current installation rates are around 40 gigawatts per year. Hitherto PV found widespread use in niche markets such as consumer electronics, remote area power supplies and satellites. In recent years there have been dramatic falls in the cost of PV and the industry has expanded immensely. Panel prices are now below $1,000 per kilowatt and system prices are $2000-3000 per kilowatt. PV electricity is now less expensive than both domestic and commercial retail electricity from the grid


throughout most of the world, and is approaching cost-competitiveness with wholesale conventional electricity in most places.

Over the past five years there has been a fundamental change in the economics of PV. PV systems are being installed on tens of millions of building roofs, and also in large ground mounted power stations. The cost of PV systems can be confidently expected to continue to decline for decades. Current worldwide PV market demand is 30-40 Gigawatts per year (approximately equal to the power capacity of the Australian electricity system). In 2012 nearly one Gigawatt was installed in Australia, and more than one million Australian houses have PV systems on their roofs.

In recent years PV production capacity has surged far ahead of demand, which has led to an intense price war and a wave of bankruptcies of high profile PV companies. A profound industry shakeout and consolidation is underway. The winners will emerge into a vast industry.

Grid parity for photovoltaics at a retail level has already been achieved for most of the world’s businesses and population. In Australian cities, roof-mounted PV systems typically produce electricity at a cost of half to two thirds of the retail electricity tariff. This is leading to rapid growth in sales in the residential and commercial sectors without the need for subsidies. Furthermore, electricity demand has been falling for several years. These factors are placing substantial pressure on the business models of the existing electricity industry. New business models are required that focus on the supply of energy services, including time-of-use tariffs, energy-efficient products and roof-mounted PV, rather than just the supply of electrons down wires.

Medium level penetrations of wind and PV currently do not present major problems for grid stability. For example, South Australia now procures 31% of its electricity from wind and PV and has avoided major problems. Various options are available for lessening the impact of high penetrations of wind and PV, including shifting demand from night to day (the opposite of what is done at present), and utilising a broad range of renewable energy and storage technologies. At present, the pumped hydroelectric storage is by far the worldwide leading and most efficient large-scale storage technology for electricity.

Solar Thermal Power and Fuels Concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) systems, with their distinctive features of integrated short- and long-term thermal energy storage, represent a cost-effective and dispatchable form of renewable energy that is commercially available today. Total deployment of CSP systems worldwide is now approaching 3 GW (peak electric output), with growth at approximately 40% per year since 2005, and is expected to reach installed capacity of 4.5 GWe in 2013. A further 2.9 GWe is under construction and 7.3 GWe soon to commence construction. The benefits to the grid of CSP with thermal energy storage have already been recognised in some jurisdictions, e.g. in the United States, through power purchase agreements with a significant premium compared to PV plants. Current rapid development in this energy sector is comparable with that of PV and wind, but has only been occurring in the last 8 years. Industry participants agree that, though already commercial, there remain large potential areas where costs can be reduced. Costs for CSP including storage approaching $100–130/MWh now appear to be within reach, although the difficult process of iterative large-scale system development still continues. Strong support for technology development is observed in South Africa, the Middle East, North America, and Australia. Several companies are


forging ahead with development and deployment in Australia, including Novatec/Transfield, with an operational 9.3 MW coal-booster system at Liddell Power Station, New South Wales, and Vast Solar, with a novel prototype plant now operational in Forbes, New South Wales, and Areva Solar with their 44 MW Kogan Creek coal-booster, Queensland, currently under construction.

The Solar Thermal Group has been keenly following the recent work by NREL and UNSW which has been showing that optimal (lowest-cost) configurations of future 100% renewable energy grids will make use of around 15% of generated energy from CSP sources, as part of the energy supply mix. The role of CSP here is to provide the cheapest form of flexible power delivery after sunset, to meet the evening demand peaks and also to provide buffering of the variability of other solar and wind energy sources. CSP can provide power generation and storage in a cost-effective unified system, with excellent round-trip storage efficiency. As well as current molten-salt storage systems, next-generation phase-change and thermochemical storage options are hoped to bring down CSP energy costs.

In the longer term concentrating solar thermal technologies are anticipated to be broadly employed for chemical and industrial processing, including the synthesis of renewable liquid fuels for land, maritime and air transportation. The research on solar production of synthesis gas and solar-driven CO2 capture from air and flue gases for CO2-neutral hydrocarbon fuels is ongoing in multiple laboratories worldwide, and will be substantially expanded at the Australian National University in the coming years.


External Advisory Committee An External Advisory Committee meets several times per year, and provides advice on operational and strategic matters.

Membership

Mr Ian Farrar – Chair Ian Farrar has a distinguished career in senior management in CSIRO and the coal industry. He has a Bachelor of Commerce from ANU. From 2002 until his retirement in 2005 he was Managing Director/CEO of Coal Services Pty Limited (CSPL), Coal Mines Insurance Pty Limited (CMI) and Mines Rescue Pty Limited, as well as Chairman of Coal Services Health and Safety Trust and Injury Prevention and Control Australia Limited. From 1992-2002 he was Chairman/CEO of the Joint Coal Board, Coal Mines Insurance Pty Limited and the Joint Coal Board Health and Safety Trust. From 1964 to 1992 he held a range of senior management position within CSIRO, including General Manager (Corporate Resources) and Senior Principal Advisor (Special Projects).

Ms Susan Neill Susan Neill has a tertiary background in mathematics and modern languages. Susan commenced working in the renewable energy industry at a wholesale level in 1986, obtained PV System Design Accreditation and completed postgraduate Applied PV certificate from UNSW. She became involved in the development of the Solar Energy Industry Association of Australia (SEIAA) in 1990 through to its present status as part of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, fulfilling the role as National President of SEIAA through the mid-1990s. Susan has broad experience in industry development issues and a wide network of contacts at industry level.

Dr Hugh Saddler Hugh Saddler has specialised in the fields of energy, environment and technology economics and policy. He has been fully engaged in the analysis of major national energy policy issues, with a strong and consistent emphasis on energy system sustainability, in the UK and Australia as an academic, government employee and consultant, since 1973. He is the author of a book on Australian energy policy and of over 70 scientific papers, monographs and articles on energy, technology and environmental policy. He is also a regular commentator in the electronic and print media. He was a member of the Board of ACT Electricity and Water (ACTEW) from 1991 to 1995.

Professor Jim Williams Jim Williams is one of the leading and most influential figures in Physics and Engineering in Australia. His high standing in this field is evidenced by the many awards and honours he has received. He is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, the American Physical Society, the Materials Research Society and the Australian Institute of Physics. His research is in the broad field of Materials Science with a particular focus on semiconductor research. During his career he has published more than 450 research papers in international refereed journals and books, and delivered more than 90 plenary and invited lectures at international meetings.


Funding Funding is obtained from a wide variety of Government and commercial sources.

Source Name Years ANU Share ARC Centre ARC Centre for Solar Energy Systems 2003-12 $3,609,000 ARC Fellow Dr Kylie Catchpole 2008-12 $750,000 ARC LP Centrotherm 2009-12 $630,000 ARC LP Bragg One 2009-12 $569,000 ARC LP Chromasun 2010-13 $240,000 ASI Round 1 Plasmon 2010-13 $1,000,000

ASI Round 1 SLIVER 2010-13 $4,900,000

ARC LP SLIVER 2010-13 $940,000

SERIS 23% cell 2010-12 $835,000

ASI Round 2 CST micro 2011-14 $1,160,000

ASI Round 2 PV Core 2011-14 $4,400,000

ASI Round 2 UNSW 2011-14 $225,000

ARC LP Sierratherm 2011-13 $520,000

Defence CTD-2 Flexible micro modules 2012-13 $1,000,000

ASI USASEC Improved High-Temperature Receivers for Dish Concentrators

2012-14 $1,400,000

ARC Future Fellow Daniel MacDonald 2012-15 $800,000

ASI ASI Fellow 2012-14 $300,000

ASI Laser chemical jet 2012-13 $350,000

ASI-3 Chromasun Pilot 2012-14 $500.000

ANU MEG Solar monitoring 2012 $100,000

ASI SRI Australian Solar Thermal Research Initiative 2013-20 $5,500,000

ASI MUSIC 2013-16 $1,485,000

ASI PV Centre 2013-20 $6,400,000

ASI Data Mining 2013-15 ARC “Nanophotonics for strong absorption in extremely

thin solar cells - moving beyond silicon” 2013-15 $480,000

ASI 11 ASI Fellows • Dr. Fiacre Rougieux • Dr. Xinbo Yang • Dr. Andy Thomson • Dr. Liz Thomsen • Dr. Soe Zin • Dr. Andreas Fell • Dr. Niraj Lal • Dr. Nick Grant • Dr. Kate Booker • Dr. Qunyu Bi • José Zapata

2013-15 $3,500,000

ASI Aust-Ger LCP 2012-14 $350,000

ASI Aust-Ger laser 2013-15 $447,000

ASI Aust-Germany photolum 2012-15 $490,000


Publications

Journals Title Authors Journal A comparison of models to optimize Partial Rear Contact solar cells

Andres CUEVAS, Di YAN Energy Procedia

Al2O3/TiO2 stack layers for effective surface passivation of crystalline silicon

Dong Chul SUH, Klaus WEBER Journal of Applied Physics

Applications of Photoluminescence Imaging to Dopant and Carrier Concentration Measurements of Silicon Wafers

Siew Yee LIM, Maxime FORSTER, Xinyu ZHANG, Jan HOLTKAMP, Schubert MARTIN, Andres CUEVAS, Daniel MACDONALD,

IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics

Asia Pacific Super Grid: Solar electricity generation, storage and distribution

Andrew BLAKERS, Joachim LUTHER, Anna NADOLNY Green

Boron-oxygen defect imaging in p-type Czochralski silicon

Siew Yee LIM, Daniel MACDONALD, Fiacre ROUGIEUX Applied Physics Letters

Boron-oxygen defect in Czochralski-silicon co-doped with gallium and boron

Maxime FORSTER, Erwann FOURMOND, Fiacre ROUGIEUX, Andres CUEVAS, Raira GOTOH, Kojo FUJIWARA, Satoshi UDA, Mustapha LEMITI

Applied Physics Letters

Characterisation and optimisation of PECVD SiNx as an antireflection coating and passivation layer for silicon solar cells

Andrew THOMSON, Yimao WAN AIP Advances

Combined plasmonic and dielectric rear reflectors for enhanced photocurrent in solar cells

Angelika BASCH, Fiona BECK, Thomas SÖDERSTRÖM, Sergey VARLAMOV, Kylie CATCHPOLE


Determination of the magnitude and centroid of the charge in a thin-film insulator by CV and Kelvin probe measurements

Keith MCINTOSH, Lachlan BLACK, Simeon BAKER-FINCH, Teng KHO, Yimao WAN

Energy Procedia

Effective silicon surface passivation by atomic layer deposited Al2O3/TiO2 stacks

Dong Chul SUH, Klaus WEBER Physica Status Solidi: Rapid Research Letters

Electrical properties of atomic layer deposited Al2O3 with anneal temperature for surface passivation

Dong Chul SUH, Wensheng LIANG Thin Solid Films


Title Authors Journal Empirical determination of the energy band gap narrowing in highly doped n+ silicon

Andres CUEVAS, Di YAN Journal of Applied Physics

Enhanced light trapping in solar cells using snow globe coating

Angelika BASCH, Fiona BECK, Thomas SÖDERSTRÖM, Sergey VARLAMOV, Kylie CATCHPOLE

Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications

Estimation of solidification interface shapes in a boron-phosphorus compensated multicrystalline silicon ingot via photoluminescence imaging

Siew Yee LIM, Maxime FORSTER, Daniel MACDONALD Journal of Crystal Growth

Evaluating plasmonic light trapping with photoluminescence

Chog BARUGKIN, Kylie CATCHPOLE, Daniel MACDONALD, Yimao WAN


Evaluation of the Bulk Lifetime of Silicon Wafers by Immersion in Hydrofluoric Acid and Illumination

Nicholas GRANT, Jason TAN ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology

Geometric Analysis of Solar Cells With Partial Rear Contacts: Comparison to 3-D Simulations

Andres CUEVAS IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics

Geometrical Analysis of Solar Cells With Partial Rear Contacts

Andres CUEVAS IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics

Imaging crystal orientations in multicrystalline silicon wafers via photoluminescence

Hang Cheong (Kelvin) SIO, Z XIONG, Thorsten TRUPKE, Daniel MACDONALD


Imaging of the relative saturation current density and sheet resistance of laser doped regions via photoluminescence

Andreas FELL, Evan FRANKLIN, Daniel MACDONALD, Thomas RATCLIFF, Daniel WALTERS, Klaus WEBER, Lujia XU, Xinbo YANG

Journal of Applied Physics

Impact of compensation on the boron and oxygen-related degradation of upgraded metallurgical-grade silicon solar cells

Andres CUEVAS, Fiacre ROUGIEUX Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

Impact of incomplete ionization of dopants on the electrical properties of compensated p-type silicon

Maxime FORSTER, Andres CUEVAS, Erwann FOURMOND, Fiacre ROUGIEUX, Mustapha LEMITI


Impact of laterally non-uniform carrier lifetime on photoconductance-based lifetime measurements with self-consistent calibration

Wensheng LIANG, Yongling REN, Klaus WEBER Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications

Improved quantitative description of Auger recombination in crystalline silicon

A RICHTER, Stefan GLUNZ, Florian WERNER, Jan SCHMIDT, Andres CUEVAS

Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials


Title Authors Journal Incomplete ionization and carrier mobility in compensated p-type and n-type silicon

Maxime FORSTER, Fiacre ROUGIEUX, Andres CUEVAS, B DEHESTRU, A THOMAS, E FOURMOND, M LEMITI


Initial field performance of a hybrid CPV-T microconcentrator system

Marta VIVAR, Vernie EVERETT, M FUENTES, Andrew BLAKERS, Andrew TANNER, Peter LE LIEVRE, Mikal GREAVES

Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications

Investigating Internal Gettering of Iron at Grain Boundaries in Multicrystalline Silicon via Photoluminescence Imaging

An Yao LIU, Daniel WALTERS, Sieu Pheng PHANG, Daniel MACDONALD


Iron-rich particles in heavily contaminated multicrystalline silicon wafers and their response to phosphorus gettering

Daniel MACDONALD, Sieu Pheng PHANG, Fiacre ROUGIEUX, Siew Yee LIM, David PATERSON, Daryl HOWARD, Martin DE JONGE, Christopher G Ryan

Semiconductor Science and Technology

Isotextured silicon solar cell analysis and modeling 1: Optics

Simeon BAKER-FINCH IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics

Isotextured silicon solar cell analysis and modeling 2: Recombination and device modeling

Simeon BAKER-FINCH IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics

Misconceptions and Misnomers in Solar Cells Andres CUEVAS, Di YAN IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics Modelling silicon solar cells with up-to-date material parameters

Stuart HARGREAVES, Lachlan BLACK, Andres CUEVAS, Di YANG Energy Procedia

On the method of photoluminescence spectral intensity ratio imaging of silicon bricks: Advances and limitations

Bernhard MITCHELL, Jurgen WEBER, Daniel WALTERS, Daniel MACDONALD, Thorsten TRUPKE


Optimal wavelength scale diffraction gratings for light trapping in solar cells

Teck Kong CHONG, Jonathan WILSON, Sudha MOKKAPATI and Kylie CATCHPOLE

Journal of Optics A: Pure and Applied Optics

Passivation of aluminium-n+ silicon contacts for solar cells by ultrathin Al2O3 and SiO2 dielectric layers

James BULLOCK, Andres CUEVAS, Di YANG Physica Status Solidi: Rapid Research Letters

Physical model of back line-contact front-junction solar cells

Andres CUEVAS Journal of Applied Physics

Plasma hydrogenated, reactively sputtered aluminium oxide for silicon surface passivation

Andres CUEVAS, Xinyu ZHANG

Physica Status Solidi: Rapid Research Letters


Title Authors Journal Plasmon-enhanced internal photoemission for photovoltaics: Theoretical efficiency limits

Thomas WHITE, Kylie CATCHPOLE Applied Physics Letters

Resonant enhancement of dielectric and metal nanoparticle arrays for light trapping in solar cells

Er-Chien WANG, Thomas WHITE, Kylie CATCHPOLE Optics Express

Surface Passivation of Boron Diffused p-type Silicon Surfaces with (100) and (111) Orientation by ALD Al2O3

Layers

Wensheng LIANG, Klaus WEBER, Dong Chul SUH, Sieu Pheng PHANG, Jun YU


Surface Passivation of Boron-Diffused p-Type Silicon Surfaces With (100) and (111) Orientations by ALD Al2O3 Layers

Bridget LEGG, Wensheng LIANG, Andrew MCAULEY, Sieu Pheng PHANG, Dong Chul SUH, Klaus WEBER, Jun X YU


Surface passivation of c-Si by atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition of Al2O3

Lachlan BLACK, Keith MCINTOSH Applied Physics Letters

Temperature dependence of Auger recombination in highly injected crystalline silicon

Sisi WANG, Daniel MACDONALD Journal of Applied Physics

The critical growth velocity for planar-to-faceted interfaces transformation in SiGe crystals

Xi YANG, K. FUJIWARA, N. V. ABROSIMOV, Raira GOTOH, J NOZAWA, H KOIZUMI, A KWASNIEWSKI, S Uda


Theory of the circular closed loop antenna in the terahertz, infrared, and optical regions

Kylie CATCHPOLE, Arnold MCKINLEY, Thomas WHITE Journal of Applied Physics

Thermal deactivation of lifetime- limiting grown-in point defects in n-type Czochralski silicon wafers

Nicholas GRANT, Daniel MACDONALD, Fiacre ROUGIEUX Physica Status Solidi: Rapid Research Letters

Thermal stability of silicon surface passivation by APCVD Al2O3

Thomas ALLEN, Lachlan BLACK, Andres CUEVAS Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

Trade-offs between impurity gettering, bulk degradation, and surface passivation of boron-rich layers on silicon solar cells

Sieu Pheng PHANG, Wensheng LIANG, Bettina WOLPENSINGER, Michael Andreas KESSLER, Daniel MACDONALD


Uncertainty in Photoconductance Measurements of the Emitter Saturation Current

Nicholas GRANT, Andrew THOMSON, Di YAN IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics

Ensuring long term investment for large scale solar power stations: Hedging instruments for green power

Alex RADCHIK, Igor SKRYABIN, J MAISANO, Alex NOVIKOV, Talia GAZARIAN

Solar Energy


Conference Papers Title Authors Journal Acceptor-related metastable defects in compensated n-type silicon

Fiacre ROUGIEUX, Sieu Pheng PHANG, Avi SHALAV, Bianca LIM, Jan SCHMIDT, Daniel MACDONALD, Andres CUEVAS,

International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference (PVSEC 2012)

Characterization of stress in amorphous silicon nitride and implications to c-Si surface passivation

Andrew THOMSON, Yimao WAN IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC 2012)

Cloud tracking with optical flow for short-term solar forecasting

John PYE, Phillip WOOD-BRADLEY, Jose ZAPATA Australia and New Zealand Solar Energy Society Conference (Solar 2012)

Computational and experimental investigations into cavity receiver heat loss for solar thermal concentrators

Ehsan ABBASI, Gregory BURGESS, Jeffrey CUMPSTON, Emily DO, John PYE

Australia and New Zealand Solar Energy Society Conference (Solar 2012)

Continued Development of All-Back-Contact Silicon Wafer Solar Cells at ANU

Ngwe Soe ZIN, Andrew BLAKERS, Keith MCINTOSH, Evan FRANKLIN, Teng KHO, Kean FONG, Johnson WONG, Thomas MUELLER, Qiang HUANG, Pierre J VERLINDEN

PV Asia Pacific Conference 2012

Contrast Enhancement of Luminescence Images via Point-Spread Deconvolution

Daniel WALTERS, An Yao LIU, Evan FRANKLIN, Daniel MACDONALD, Bernhard MITCHELL, Thorsten TRUPKE

IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC 2012)

Detection and reduction of iron impurities in silicon solar cells

Daniel MACDONALD, Sieu Pheng PHANG, An Yao LIU International Symposium on Advanced Science and Technology of Silicon Materials 2012

Dopant mapping for laser doping using secondary electron image

Andreas FELL, Evan FRANKLIN, Sieu Pheng PHANG, Klaus WEBER, Lujia XU

European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference 2012

Electrical properties of different types of grain boundaries in multicrystalline silicon by photoluminescence imaging

Hang Cheong (Kelvin) SIO, Thorsten TRUPKE, Daniel MACDONALD


Estimation of uncertainty in automated heliostat alignment

John PYE, Jack ZHANG

Australia and New Zealand Solar Energy Society Conference (Solar 2012)


Experimental validation of a dynamic model for a mono-tube cavity receiver

Gregory BURGESS, John PYE, Jose ZAPATA Australia and New Zealand Solar Energy Society Conference (Solar 2012)

Humidity degradation and repair of ALD Al2O3

passivated silicon Wensheng LIANG, Klaus WEBER, Dong Chul SUH, Jun YU, James BULLOCK


Imaging and modelling the internal gettering of interstitial iron by grain boundaries in multicrystalline silicon

An Yao LIU, Daniel WALTERS, Sieu Pheng PHANG, Daniel MACDONALD


Imaging of the interstitial iron concentration in B-doped c-Si based on time-dependent photoluminescence imaging

Sandra HERLUFSEN, Daniel MACDONALD, Karsten BOTHE, Jan SCHMIDT


Imaging the Recombination Current Pre-Factor Jo of Heavily Doped Surface Regions; A Comparison of Low and High Injection Photoluminescence Techniques

James BULLOCK, Andres CUEVAS, Andrew THOMSON, Di YAN European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference 2012

Impact of minority-impurity scattering on the carrier mobility in compensated silicon

Fiacre ROUGIEUX, Maxime FORSTER, Daniel MACDONALD, Andres CUEVAS

International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference (PVSEC 2012)

Investigation of field-effect passivation and interface state parameters at the Al2O3/Si interface

Wensheng LIANG, Klaus WEBER, Dong Chul SUH, Yongling REN


Laser doping from Al2O3 Layers Andreas FELL, Evan FRANKLIN, Dong Chul SUH, Daniel WALTERS, Klaus WEBER


Laser-Assisted Shunt Removal on High-Efficiency Silicon Solar Cells

Andrew BLAKERS, Kean FONG, Evan FRANKLIN, Teng KHO, Ngwe Soe ZIN


Modeling recombination at the Si-Al2O3 interface Lachlan BLACK IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC 2012)

Modelling isotextured silicon solar cells and modules Simeon BAKER-FINCH IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC 2012)

Modified atomic-layer-deposited Al2O3processes to enhance the surface passivation of crystalline silicon

Dong Chul SUH, Wensheng LIANG, Yu, Jun, Klaus WEBER

Global Photovoltaic Conference (GPVC 2013)


Photoluminescence imaging for net doping measurements of surface limited silicon wafers

Siew Yee LIM, Maxime FORSTER International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference (PVSEC 2012)

Plasmonic near-field enhancement for planar ultra-thin absorber solar cells

Kylie CATCHPOLE, Zhu WANG, Thomas WHITE IEEE Photonics Conference (IPC 2012)

Results from the first ANU-chromasun CPV-T microconcentrator prototype in Canberra

Andrew BLAKERS, Vernie EVERETT, Judith HARVEY, Elizabeth THOMSEN, Marta VIVAR

International Conference on Concentrating Photovoltaic Systems 2012

Solar Cooling in Australia - A review Michael DENNIS, Inga DOEMLAND Australia and New Zealand Solar Energy Society Conference (Solar 2012)

Studying precipitation and dissolution of iron in multicrystalline silicon wafers during annealing

An Yao LIU, Daniel WALTERS, Daniel MACDONALD International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference (PVSEC 2012)

Surface passivation of crystalline silicon with Al2O3/TiO2 stack layers

Dong Chul SUH, Jun YU, Wensheng LIANG, Klaus WEBER IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC 2013)

The effects of air conditioning on the summer peak electricity demand and the role of PV

Michael DENNIS, Inga DOEMLAND Australian Solar Cooling Conference 2013

The emergence of n-type silicon for solar cell manufacture

Daniel MACDONALD Australia and New Zealand Solar Energy Society Conference (Solar 2012)

The study of Al2O3 passivation by corona charge

Wensheng LIANG, Dong Chul SUH, Klaus WEBER European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference 2012

The study of Al2O3 passivation by corona charge Dong Chul SUH, Wensheng LIANG, Klaus WEBER European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference 2012

Towards an Innovative Spectral Splitting Hybrid PV-T Microconcentrator

Vernie EVERETT, YiLiang WU, Alois RESCH, M EBERT, Marta VIVAR, Elizabeth THOMSEN, Judith HARVEY, Paul Scott

International Conference on Concentrating Photovoltaic Systems 2012


Book Chapters Chapter Title Authors Book Title Fundamental principles of CSP systems Keith LOVEGROVE, John PYE Concentrating Solar Power

Technology: Principles, Developments and Applications

Heat flux and temperature measurement technologies for concentrating solar power

Gregory BURGESS, Jeffrey CUMPSTON

here - Solar - Australian National University

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