Workshop: Durability of Thin Film Solar Cells

Workshop
Durability of Thin Film Solar Cells
Empa Akademie, Dübendorf ZH

Background Information
This workshop is part of the DURSOL project Exploring and Improving Durability of Thin Film Solar Cells. DURSOL is a project that brings together the major Swiss research teams and companies in the field of thin film photovoltaics. DURSOL intends to… – perform world-class research and development to explore and improve the durability of thin film solar cells – generate visibility and attract young scientists to the rapidly growing field of thin film photovoltaics by organizing workshops and developing educational activities – create a thin film photovoltaics platform in Switzerland that promotes teamwork between Swiss Federal Institutions, Universities, Universities of Applied Sciences and Industry DURSOL has been created within the framework of the Swiss Competence Centre for Energy and Mobility CCEM-CH and receives additional funding from Swiss - electric Research.

Topic and Objectives
The direct conversion of sunlight into electricity using solar cells is a key technology for the sustainable energy supply of the future. Thin film solar cells are the fastest growing branch of the booming photovoltaic market. They can be fabricated using inorganic (a-Si, mc-Si, CdTe, CIGS) or organic (OPV, DSC) materials and they can be deposited on rigid or flexible substrates using large-scale compatible coating and printing processes. The main advantages of thin film solar cells over today’s typical silicon wafer-based photovoltaic modules are flexibility and lower cost of production. Thin film solar cell research is a quickly developing field and rapid progress is being achieved in all areas covering device design, upscaling and solar cell power conversion efficiency. The workshop will focus on the long-term stability of thin film solar cells. Degradation mechanisms in ultra-thin films due to external influences of water vapour and oxygen or inherent material properties are complex. Combined efforts from academia and industry are needed to identify and resolve the basic physical and chemical processes at the micro and nano scale that adversely affect the lifetime of thin film solar cells. The workshop intends to give a general overview of the field, identify stability issues common to all technologies, and focus on selected degradation phenomena of thin film solar cells. Successive events will scientifically focus on specialized topics such as stabilization of thin film morphology, chemical and mechanical stress and barrier properties of encapsulation materials.

Sponsors
- ccem.ch
- Swissphotonics
- swisselectric research

For more information please contact
Dr. Roland Hany
Laboratory for Functional Polymers
Phone +41 58 765 40 84
E-Mail
www.empa.ch


Beni Muller, 20. July 2015