Abstract: The development of sustainable semiconductors for low-cost and efficient energy devices is vital for the energy transition. In this presentation, we discuss the development, thin film growth and understanding of new semiconductor materials for energy devices such as solar cells, including photoactive light-absorbers and transparent electrodes with either n- or p-type conductivity.
The first part focuses on the development of transparent conducting materials (TCMs), from n-type transparent conducting oxides with tunable microstructure, high conductivity and transparency,23. These properties enable good carrier extraction and minimum parasitic absorption losses in solar cells. Further, we present the experimental demonstration of transparent p-type conductive materials, a long-standing challenge in optoelectronics. By exploring halide and chalco-halide systems, semiconductors with a disperse valence band that exhibit improved hole mobility are achieved.
Lastly, the presentation showcases our recent developments in pulsed laser deposition of metal halide perovskites. We discuss how PLD allows for controlled growth, from polycrystalline to epitaxial films and photoactive phase stabilization. We demonstrate PLD of MAxFAt*Pbl thin films and integration into solar cell devices with power conversion efficiencies above 19%.
In summary, the presentation highlights the significant contributions of controlled synthesis, material design, and the integration of new materials into proof-of-concept devices for the development of efficient and sustainable solar cell technologies.
Bio: Monica Morales-Masis is Professor at the University of Twente (UT), The Netherlands which she joined in 2018. Her group at UT focuses on the development and understanding of novel thin film materials with functional properties for energy and optoelectronic devices. Her research group uses and develops physical vapor deposition processes to enable integration of these thin film materials into devices such as silicon-based and perovskite solar cells. Monica is an expert is transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) and has recently pioneered single-source pulsed laser deposition of halide perovskites. Her current research program is financed by the Dutch Research Council, European Research Council (ERC) Starting and Proof-of Concept grants. Before her position at UT, from 2013 to 2018 she was team leader of the TCO group at the Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PVLab) of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. She obtained her Ph.D. in Physics from Leiden University in 2012.