New Test Facility for Research into Thin-Film Solar Cells Opens at Eindhoven University of Technology

A new test facility for breakthrough research into thin-film solar cells opened at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) on Nov. 27, 2013. The new lab is part of the Solliance alliance, and includes a high-resolution transmission electron microscope that will allow atom-by-atom study of the components of solar cells.

Thin-film solar cells consist of stacked layers of different materials. The efficiency of these cells is to a large extent determined by the properties of the boundaries between the different layers. To gain a better understanding of these properties, the researchers want to study the materials and the boundaries between them atom-by-atom.

The new transmission electron microscope (TEM), supplied by JEOL, has such a high resolution that it allows individual atoms to be distinguished. This TEM also has an extra technology called EDS (Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy). The extra-large EDS detector on this specific system enables determination at the atomic scale of the elements being viewed.

The new electron microscope has another big advantage over older systems – because it can operate at lower acceleration voltages, the microscope can also be used to study more delicate materials. This can be useful in studying solar cells, for example, consisting of organic molecules, polymers and graphene.

The new test facility is physically housed at Philips Innovation Services on the Eindhoven High Tech Campus, as Philips possesses the necessary knowledge and experience to operate the TEM. Researchers from TU/e and Solliance will be able to benefit from this expertise, while experts from Philips will be able to use the TEM for their own services. This will allow optimum use to be made of the available knowledge, expertise and facilities in what has now developed into the leading solar region of the Netherlands.

The new TEM, costing around €2 million, has been financed by the Province of Noord Brabant as part of Solliance. Solliance is an alliance that brings together the R&D activities in thin-film solar cells of TU/e, TNO, Holst Centre, ECN, Imec and Forschungszentrum Jülich. The location of the new TEM on the High Tech Campus is next to the Solliance building which is currently under construction. The activities in this new building will include pilot production lines for thin-film solar cells.