High-power, low-weight, flexible thin film photovoltaics for space application
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Surrey
Department Name: Mechanical Medical and Aerospace Eng
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Mark Baker (Principal Investigator) | |
| Craig Underwood (Co-Investigator) |
Publications
Clayton A
(2015)
Influence of CdCl2 activation treatment on ultra-thin Cd1-xZnxS/CdTe solar cells
in Thin Solid Films
Irvine S
(2014)
Cadmium Telluride Solar Cells on Ultrathin Glass for Space Applications
in Journal of Electronic Materials
Kartopu G
(2012)
Effect of window layer composition in Cd 1- x Zn x S/CdTe solar cells
in Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications
Kartopu G
(2015)
CdTe thin film solar cells produced using a chamberless inline process via metalorganic chemical vapour deposition
in Thin Solid Films
Lamb D
(2015)
Lightweight and low-cost thin film photovoltaics for large area extra-terrestrial applications
in IET Renewable Power Generation
Lamb D
(2016)
Characterization of MOCVD Thin-Film CdTe Photovoltaics on Space-Qualified Cover Glass
in IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
Lamb D
(2017)
Proton irradiation of CdTe thin film photovoltaics deposited on cerium-doped space glass
in Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications
Lamb D
(2015)
Lightweight and low-cost thin film photovoltaics for large area extra-terrestrial applications
in IET Renewable Power Generation
Lamb D
(2016)
Characterization of MOCVD Thin-Film CdTe Photovoltaics on Space-Qualified Cover Glass
in IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
Monir S
(2020)
Thin CdTe Layers Deposited by a Chamberless Inline Process using MOCVD, Simulation and Experiment
in Applied Sciences
| Description | 1. CdTe based solar cells deposited by MOCVD onto 100 micron thick flexible glass with an efficiency of 15.3 %. Depositing the solar cell directly onto the flexible cover glass is novel - improving the specific power of the solar cell, through saving weight. 2. Using sophisticated analytical techniques; transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the multilayer structure, composition and individual layer thicknesses have been determined and correspond well to those expected from the growth conditions. 3. TEM data has shown evidence of porosity in the ZnO buffer layer. This is attributed to the high roughness of the aluminium doped zinc oxide transparent conductive layer (due to its columnar growth) combined with the unusual isotropic growth mode of the ZnO nanograins. This has resulted in the ZnO layer now being grown at a different temperature in an attempt to reduce the porosity and increase solar cell efficiency. 4. The adhesive strength of the solar cell to the flexible glass is excellent, with an adhesive strength > 16 MPa. 5. These solar cells have now been tested on board a small satellite for 3 years, making 17,000 orbits around the earth, experiencing temperatures of between -4 and +51 °C. There is no indication of delamination of the multilayer solar cell from the glass substrate. Over this period, the efficiency of the solar cell dropped only a small amount, from 13 % to 11 %. Data recorded from the solar cell indicates that this efficiency drop was caused by gold from the back contact of the solar cell diffusing into the CdTe layer over time. A new back-contact architecture could solve this problem. 6. With the current world record conversion efficiency for thin film CdTe being 22.1 % AM1.5 the ultimate ambition of a space ready CdTe solar cell is; a radiation and thermally stable device structure with 20% AM0 efficiency, a specific power of > 1.5 kW/kg and a significantly lower production cost to current multi-junction technology. 7. Hence, this project has shown that the CdTe solar cell technology on 100 micron thick glass is a realistic lower cost alternative to the current multi-junction technology used on satellites. |
| Exploitation Route | 1. Other research workers/companies could also apply the novel approach of depositing the solar cell directly onto the cover glass for space applications. 2. Scientific evidence for the roughness of the aluminium doped zinc oxide layer and the ZnO buffer layer morphology and the resulting porosity observed is of interest to the general thin film photovoltaic community. 3. The excellent adhesion of the solar cell to the flexible cover glass has been achieved through specific cleaning process which could also be used by other researchers/companies using similar plasma based deposition processes. |
| Sectors | Electronics,Energy,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Other |
| Description | This project has now finished. The results were very successful. 3 Journal Publications and 3 conference publications have been made from this work. Numerous presentations have been given at international conferences in the fields of photovoltaics, thin films and satellite development. The solar cells from this project have been mounted on the AlSat Nano 3 Unit Cubesat mission which was launched in September 26th 2016 and is now reporting the first ever thin film solar cell on cover glass data which can be accessed by the public. The story of this satellite launch and payload is given in the youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5AFwxnNxAU |
| First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
| Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Education,Electronics,Energy,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
| Title | Ink Jet printer (PixPro LP50) |
| Description | The PixPro LP50 was commissioned and modified on the Sinter Free research project to produce highly conducting metal contacts for thin film photovoltaic (PV) cells. The information learnt on the research project is now being applied to innovative designs of monolithic modules and in particular thin film PV modules on ultra-thin glass (UTG). The use of UTG is extremely challenging when fabricating monolithic modules that could be the basis for practical ultra-light-weight PV arrays. The information gained on the Sinter-free inkjet project has enabled a new avenue of research to minimize strain that will be included in a new research proposal to EPSRC on fundamental aspects of strain in functional devices on UTG. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Too early to assess impact but ongoing discussions with UTG glass manufacturers and research collaborators at University of Surrey on the strain proposal. |
| URL | http://www.cser.org.uk |
| Description | Business and technology article |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Wales Business Insider Magazine, Page: 36-37, June/July 2014 "Green on the Inside" (Circulation: 7,000 Frequency: Monthly) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Conference Invited presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | EMRS, 15-18th sept, 2015, Warsaw, "Ultra-thin glass: the ideal superstrate for thin film PV?" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | European Conference presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | European Conference on Surface and Interface Analysis (ECASIA'15), Granada, Spain, Sept 27-31, 2015. "Characterisation of a Multilayer CdTe based Solar Cell for Space Applications" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | European Photovoltaic Conference, Netherlands, presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 29th EUPVSEC, 22 - 26 September, 2014, poster presented, paper into proceedings "cadmium telluride thin film photovoltaics for space application". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | European Photovoltaic conference, Germany, presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | EU-PVSEC28, 30th Sept- 04th Oct, 2013, Conference paper and poster presentation "High-power, Low-weight, Flexible CdTe Thin Film Photovoltaics For Space Application". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | II/VI Semiconductor Materials Workshop, Chicago, Invited talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | II/VI Workshop 01-03rd Oct, 2013, Chicago, Invited talk "Cadmium Telluride Solar Cells On Ultra-Thin Glass For Space Applications". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | International Royal Society conference, Invited Talk (South Africa) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | UK South Africa Royal Society Conference, "Thin film PV on ultrathin glass". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | International Solar conference, Invited Talk (Turkey) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Solar TR3 Conference, April 27-29th, 2015, Ankara, Turkey "Thin Film PV on Ultra-thin Glass". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | International Thin Film Conference, Dubrovnik, presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | ICTF'16, Dubrovnik, Croatia 13-16 October, 2014 "Characterisation Of MOCVD Grown CdTe Thin Film Solar Cells". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | National Photovoltaic conference presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | PVSAT11, 15-17th April 2015, "Preparation of a Thin Film CdTe Solar Cell for Flight Testing on a Satellite". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Newspaper article |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Co-authored article for Daily Post, March 2015 "Glyndwr University chosen to lead space project" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | PVSAT conference presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | PV-SAT10 Oral presentation and conference paper (Lightweight and Low Cost Thin Film Photovoltaics for Large Area Extra-terrestrial Applications). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Publicity of research results, Wales |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Welsh Optoelectronics Forum News Letter, Winter 2015 "Solar cells selected for flight testing" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Radio broadcast on the EPSRC project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Science Café, BBC Radio Wales, 24 March 2015 "Interview in the CSER lab about the Space PV project" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Radio interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Radio Wales interview - Science Café 16th May, 2013 "Interview in the CSER lab about the Space PV project" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Research project publicity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Journal for Science Engineering and Technology Advances, Wales, Issue 72, Summer 2014, pages 14-15 "New Solar Cell Technology Taking off in North Wales" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | University invited lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | IOM3, invited lecture, Cambridge, 12th May, "Prospects for thin film PV solar energy for a world dominated by crystalline silicon". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Vacuum Expo poster (Coventry) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Vacuum symposium (Vacuum Expo), 2014, Coventry, poster presentation |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Vacuum Symposium UK, Coventry presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Vacuum Symposium UK, 15 & 16 October 2014, "Thin Film CdTe Photovoltaics on Ultra-thin Space Qualified Cover Glass". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Vacuum Symposium presentation, Coventry |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Vacuum Symposium UK, 15 & 16 October 2014 "Characterization Of A CdTe Thin Film Solar Cell For Space Application". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Welsh Optoelectronics Forum newsletter - project announcement |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Welsh Optoelectronics Forum EPSRC research grant announcement "High-Power, low-weight flexible thin film photovoltaics for space application", spring 2013 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Workshop Presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | CDT-TCO workshop, 11th November 2015, the University of Liverpool, invited talk "TCO's and space applications" Invited Talk |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Workshop presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Bright Lights and Engineering, Celebrating the International Year of Light and the Welsh Festival of Innovation, Tuesday 16th June, 2015, OpTIC "Solar Applications in Space". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |