Biography

Dr AnYao Liu studied Engineering at The Australian National University (ANU), graduating with First-class Honours in 2010. She completed her PhD in the field of solar photovoltaics (PV) at the ANU in 2015. She has since worked as a researcher in the solar PV group at ANU. In 2018-2022, she was awarded an ACAP Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. She was a visiting scientist to Leibniz University Hannover and Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Germany in 2023.

Research

Dr Liu’s research aims to improve the performance and cost-effectiveness of the solar photovoltaic devices through scientific understanding and technological innovations. Her research encompasses materials science, semiconductor physics, solar cells and process engineering. She is best known for her research on understanding and engineering impurities and defects in the silicon materials for solar cells. She was awarded an ACAP Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2018 to develop new techniques for removing impurities in silicon solar cells. In 2022, she was awarded the Ulrich Goesele Young Scientist Award for her pioneering work in this research field. She has been invited to speak at a number of leading international conferences in her research field, including International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference (PVSEC), Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Defects in Semiconductors, Gettering and Defect Engineering in Semiconductor Technology (GADEST) and so on. Dr Liu and her team’s research work have been numerously selected as journal cover stories and featured in PV Magazine.

In addition to fundamental PV research, Dr Liu also works with leading PV manufacturers and is a co-investigator of a number of large ARENA-industry co-funded projects.

We are currently looking for enthusiastic students to join our team. Limited scholarship available for PhD or MPhil students. Please email me directly if interested.

Interests

Solar photovoltaics, impurities and defects in silicon materials, and the advanced characterisation of semiconductor materials.

Activities and awards

Teaching - Dr Liu has been involved in teaching ENGN3516/6516 Energy Resources and Technologies since 2020. She is currently the convener for this course.

Student supervision - As of early 2024, Dr Liu has supervised two PhD students to completion as the primary supervisor. She has also supervised numerous coursework students (undergraduate and postgraduate) over the years. She is currently supervising a number of PhD, Masters and undergraduate students.