Rapid Synthesis of Epitaxial Semiconductors for Energy Applications

用于能源应用的外延半导体的快速合成

• 批准号: 1232618
• 负责人: James Rawlings
• 金额: $ 45.42万
• 依托单位: University of Wisconsin-Madison
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-08-01 至 2016-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1232618&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Rapid; Synthesis; Epitaxial; Semiconductors; Energy

This grant will develop new manufacturing approaches to the formation of critical materials and structures required for next generation solar cells. Current manufacturing technologies are based on batch processing of semiconductors, typically using slow epitaxial growth rates. This work will demonstrate that continuous processing can be a new approach to thin film epitaxial solar cell manufacturing that will enable rapid, high growth rate synthesis of epitaxial semiconductor materials. Tasks include the development of prototype manufacturing equipment, novel optimization approaches and product quality measurements. Existing material growth models will be extended to explore the rate- limiting steps and these models will be used to mitigate the development of point defects which affect the device performance.The outcome of this research will be both the knowledge of the materials properties synthesized at high growth rates as well as approaches for improving their performance in solar applications. The rapid synthesis of semiconductor materials and the understanding of the impact of very high growth rate on materials properties provide fundamental information required to open new manufacturing regimes. The work of this grant will develop the design and optimization approaches for new classes of semiconductor manufacturing tools. The widespread development and expansion of several technologies, specifically solar photovoltaics and solid-state lighting, which are both key to the energy field, will benefit from the new approaches in tool design and process development as they move to a continuous, non-batch processing that can provide new economies and open new process design approaches which have been unexplored and unexploited.

这笔赠款将开发新的制造方法，以形成下一代太阳能电池所需的关键材料和结构。 目前的制造技术基于半导体的批量处理，通常使用缓慢的外延生长速率。这项工作将证明，连续处理可以是一种新的方法，薄膜外延太阳能电池制造，将使快速，高生长速率合成外延半导体材料。任务包括原型制造设备的开发，新的优化方法和产品质量测量。 现有的材料生长模型将扩展到探索速率限制步骤，这些模型将被用来减轻点缺陷的发展，影响器件的performance.The研究的结果将是在高生长速率合成的材料性能的知识，以及提高其性能的方法在太阳能应用。半导体材料的快速合成以及对极高的生长速率对材料性能的影响的理解提供了开启新的制造机制所需的基本信息。这项资助的工作将为新的半导体制造工具开发设计和优化方法。几种技术的广泛发展和扩展，特别是太阳能光伏和固态照明，它们都是能源领域的关键，将受益于工具设计和工艺开发的新方法，因为它们转向连续的非批量处理，可以提供新的经济和开放的新工艺设计方法，这些方法尚未被探索和利用。