UD receives $3.75 million in DOE grants for leading-edge solar research

With Dow Corning Corp., researchers at IEC will expand their pioneering research on flexible, copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) solar cells, which are created by depositing a semiconductor material composed of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium onto a thin, film-like substrate.

Last year, IEC scientists reported on advancements in a new roll-to-roll technology for manufacturing flexible CIGS solar cells in long sheets, much like newsprint from a printing press, which opens the door to the manufacture of lightweight solar panels for roofs, spacecraft and many other applications.

Now, scientists at IEC will be working to develop a low-cost, silicon-coated, stainless steel substrate capable of withstanding the high processing temperatures required to produce high-quality CIGS films using a variety of roll-to-roll manufacturing techniques. The target is to produce solar cells with efficiencies greater than 12 percent, which means that a module can convert 12 percent of the incoming sunlight into electricity. For a typical solar module with an area of 1 square meter (about 10 square feet), this represents the generation of 120 watts of electricity.

In collaboration with SunPower Corp., a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of the highest efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells, panels and systems, IEC researchers will couple amorphous silicon (a-Si) films with crystalline silicon wafers to enable low-temperature processing and enhance electrical performance of crystalline silicon solar cells. The goal is to increase conversion efficiencies beyond 26 percent. Amorphous silicon films typically are used in liquid-crystal displays (LCDs), as well as for solar modules.

Established at UD in 1972, IEC works collaboratively with universities and companies around the world in the development of thin-film photovoltaics. It was designated a University Center of Excellence for Photovoltaic Research and Education by the Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 1992.

In recent years, IEC researchers have developed 10 new technologies, eight of which already have been issued as patents, relating to the fabrication of photovoltaic devices. So far, 60 percent of these solar innovations have been licensed--all to companies in the United States.

Additionally, the broad scope of IEC's research and development effort offers undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and visiting scholars unique educational opportunities in the fields of physics, chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering, as well as collaboration with industrial groups seeking to manufacture and commercialize photovoltaics.

“We've developed a great group of people here--an integrated team of scientists and students from different disciplines, which is critical to this research,” Birkmire noted.