Degradation of TOPCon Solar Cell Passivation Stacks

Project scope

• This lab-based project will investigate the degradation behaviour of passivation stacks used in TOPCon silicon solar cells.
• The student will evaluate how variations in passivation stack design respond to accelerate environmental stress testing.
• Lab induction will be required.
• Students will be expected to work on their own.
• Both domestic and international students are welcome to apply.
• The scope of the project can be tailored to suit short undergraduate (e.g. ENGN2706/ENGN3706), as well as Honours (ENGN4350) or Masters research projects (ENGN8602).

Project description

Samples with various passivation stacks will be prepared by the project supervisors in the PV labs. The student will undertake accelerated UV exposure tests with these samples. The student will perform carrier lifetime measurements at defined intervals during stress exposure, allowing to observe degradation trends over time.The results will be analysed to compare the stability of different passivation stacks.

Information for applicants

The ideal candidate is:

• a motivated student with an interest in experimental photovoltaics, and
• someone who enjoys laboratory work and data analysis.
• Basic data analysis skills and prior coursework in photovoltaics would be beneficial.

Background

TOPCon solar cells are the globally leading silicon photovoltaic technology. However, there are reports of new degradation and failure modes. Degradation of passivation layers can impact device performance.

Takeaways

The student will:

• gain hands-on experience working in laboratory environment
• contribute to experiment design and test planning
• learn accelerate UV ageing techniques
• perform lifetime measurements
• analyse and interpret experimental data.

How to apply

If you are interested, please send a copy of your CV (resume) and academic transcript to the project supervisor via email.