Effects of nanostructure and defect states in solar photovoltaic materials

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The world requires inexpensive, reliable, and sustainable energy sources. Solar photovoltaic technology, which converts sunlight directly into electricity, provides a promising source. This research program aims to enhance characterization and analysis techniques to improve the performance of solar photovoltaic cells. In this research program solar cell efficiencies will be increased using a novel and systematic approach. First, this program will quantify the effects of deposition conditions on the quality, defect state density, type and distribution in thin semiconductor films of indium gallium nitride (InGaN) films and mixed phase amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon (a-Si:H and nc-Si:H). In the short-term the objectives are to i) create deposition phase diagrams for the InGaN, ii) couple the microstructure of the materials to defect state densities and types, and iii) complete characterization of all layers of a protocrystalline Si solar cell fabricated with mixed phase materials. Then this new information about the material properties will be used in the long-term to develop optimized photovoltaic devices that overcome established obstacles in the technical development of each of these material families.