Charged oxide inversion layer (COIL) solar cells
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Warwick
Department Name: Sch of Engineering
Abstract
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Organisations
Publications
Grant N
(2024)
Activation of Al2O3 surface passivation of silicon: Separating bulk and surface effects
in Applied Surface Science
Pain S
(2024)
Atomic Layer Deposition of Hafnium Oxide Passivating Layers on Silicon: Impact of Precursor Selection
in physica status solidi (RRL) - Rapid Research Letters
Khorani E
(2023)
Electronic Band Offset Determination of Oxides Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition on Silicon
in IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
Pain S
(2022)
Electronic Characteristics of Ultra-Thin Passivation Layers for Silicon Photovoltaics
in Advanced Materials Interfaces
Grant N
(2022)
Enhanced Surface Passivation of Subnanometer Silicon Dioxide Films by Superacidic Treatments
in ACS Applied Energy Materials
Yadav A
(2024)
Formation and annihilation of bulk recombination-active defects induced by muon irradiation of crystalline silicon
in Journal of Applied Physics
Wratten A
(2023)
Hafnium oxide: A thin film dielectric with controllable etch resistance for semiconductor device fabrication
in AIP Advances
Khorani E
(2025)
Hierarchical Time-Series Approaches for Photovoltaic System Performance Forecasting With Sparse Datasets
in IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
Pain S
(2024)
Influence of co-reactants on surface passivation by nanoscale hafnium oxide layers grown by atomic layer deposition on silicon
in RSC Applied Interfaces
Xu X
(2023)
Interfacial Chemistry Effects in the Electrochemical Performance of Silicon Electrodes under Lithium-Ion Battery Conditions.
in Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)
Pain S
(2025)
Interfacial oxides for charge control of hafnium oxide surface passivation of silicon
in Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells
Wratten A
(2023)
Mechanisms of Silicon Surface Passivation by Negatively Charged Hafnium Oxide Thin Films
in IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
Blakesley J
(2024)
Roadmap on established and emerging photovoltaics for sustainable energy conversion
in Journal of Physics: Energy
McNab S
(2023)
SiN x and AlO x Nanolayers in Hole Selective Passivating Contacts for High Efficiency Silicon Solar Cells
in IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
Niewelt T
(2024)
Stability of industrial gallium-doped Czochralski silicon PERC cells and wafers
in Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells
Pain S
(2023)
Stable chemical enhancement of passivating nanolayer structures grown by atomic layer deposition on silicon
in Nanoscale
| Description | The project (which is ongoing) has identified new ways of controlling the surfaces of silicon by deposition of nanoscale coatings. These coatings will be used to reduce charge carrier recombination and improve the properties of silicon photovoltaic cells. The project has identified ways of controlling both chemical and field effect passivation mechanisms using dielectrics deposited via atomic layer deposition (including aluminium oxide and hafnium oxide). Engineering the charge distribution in these films could potentially enable the development of a new type of solar cell based on inversion layers, which has the potential to be cheaper to process than incumbent technologies. Work done in the project also has applications in other fields, including modulation of THz radiation, coatings for battery anodes, and diagnostics of defect formation in electronic materials. |
| Exploitation Route | The results of the research will be used by many other researchers worldwide working on silicon photovoltaic technologies. The work we have done provides the processing conditions necessary to provide high-quality surface passivation of semiconductor surfaces. This is valuable to research groups and commercial organisations working on developing high-efficiency photovoltaic devices, as well as other types of electronic devices. |
| Sectors | Electronics Energy |
| Description | EPSRC Supergen Solar Hub: International and Industrial Engagement Fund |
| Amount | £5,280 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2022 |
| End | 07/2023 |
| Description | Research Grant |
| Amount | £19,259 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | RGS\R2\212150 |
| Organisation | The Royal Society |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2022 |
| End | 01/2023 |
| Title | SiNx and AlOx Nanolayers in Hole Selective Passivating Contacts for High Efficiency Silicon Solar Cells |
| Description | |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:178c5e9f-2cd7-45e9-9632-9916c0263021 |