Project 1: Electrochemical Etching of Ge for Porous Germanium Templates in Solar Cell Microfabrication
A new methodology for the electrochemical etching of bulk Germanium (Ge) substrates is developed to form high-quality porous Germanium (MPGe) templates tailored for high-efficiency solar cells. The engineered porous networks are comprehensively characterized using microscopic techniques like transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to analyze sub-surface structural morphology, alongside X-ray diffraction (XRD) for evaluating crystal phase retention. Furthermore, non-destructive spectroscopic ellipsometry is implemented for rapid, wafer-scale thickness and void-fraction screening. These advanced characterization pipelines enable precise, pre-epitaxy structural screening critical for the subsequent microfabrication, epitaxial layer thickening, and contact lithography of next-generation III-V and multijunction solar cells.
Project 2: Upscaling and Large-Scale Optimization of Perovskite Thin-Films
For the scalability of next-generation photovoltaics, transition from lab-scale cells to uniform large-area films is a primary milestone. This research details the upscaling of thin-film perovskite layers utilizing advanced thermal evaporation and slot-die coating configurations. Additionally, spray coating methods are implemented to optimize the distribution and morphology of perovskite nanocrystals (NCs). This approach bridges the gap between fundamental laboratory device physics and large-scale industrial printing applications.
