Thin-film photovoltaics have demonstrated efficiencies approaching 20% and are leading candidates to provide lower-cost energy due to potential advantages in manufacturing and materials costs. To fulfill this promise, a number of scientific and technical issues are being addressed, including a lack of fundamental understanding of these unique materials and devices and the processes with which they can be deposited over large areas. The focus of the symposium will be advances in the materials science, chemistry, processing, and device issues of thin-film compound semiconductor materials that are used, or have potential use, in photovoltaic solar cells and related applications. Relevant materials include chalcogenide semiconductors such as Cu(InGa)(SeS) 2 , CdTe, CdS, and similar alloys, n-type and new p-type transparent conducting oxides, and novel materials with relevance to polycrystalline thin-film photovoltaics.
This symposium will continue a bi-annual series of MRS symposia complemented by similar European-MRS symposia in alternating years that have provided an ongoing international forum to inspire continued innovation and greater fundamental knowledge. A format similar to previous symposia is planned with both oral presentations and technical posters as well as discussion sessions on selected timely topics.
Session Topics
Topics for which papers are solicited include:
- Growth or synthesis of thin film and bulk materials
- Advances in the theory and characterization of bulk and interface defects
- Characterization and control of optoelectronic properties
- Structure and microstructure
- The nature of surfaces, interfaces, and grain boundaries
- Effects of post-deposition processing
- Junction characterization and alternative emitter layers
- Device analysis, modeling, and stability
- Improved wide-bandgap devices and transparent interconnects for tandem solar cells
- Manufacturing issues including large-area deposition and diagnostics
- New materials and other new developments
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Invited Speakers
Invited speakers include: Ralph Hunger (Darmstadt Univ. of Technology, Germany), Viktor Karpov (Univ. of Toledo), Iver Lauermann (Hahn-Meitner-Institut, Berlin, Germany), Brian McCandless (Inst. of Energy Conversion), Uwe Rau (Univ. of Stuttgart, Germany), Ian Robertson (Univ. of Illinois), Manuel Romero (National Renewable Energy Lab), Norio Terada (Kagoshima Univ., Japan), and Takahiro Wada (Ryukoku Univ., Japan). |
Tutorial Session
| A tutorial complementing this symposium is tentatively planned. Further information will be included in the program that will be available in January.
(Find out more about the 2005 MRS Spring Meeting Tutorial Program .) |
Symposium Organizers
William Shafarman
University of Delaware
Institute of Energy Conversion
Newark, DE 19716
Tel: 302-831-6215
Fax: 302-831-6226
wns@udel.edu |
Tim Gessert
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
1617 Cole Blvd.
Golden, CO 80401
Tel: 303-384-6451
Fax: 303-384-6430, tim_gessert@nrel.gov |
Shigeru Niki
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan
Tel 81-298-61-5610, Fax 81-298-61-5615, shigeru-niki@aist.go.jp |
Susanne Siebentritt
Hahn-Meitner-Institut, Glienicker Str. 100, 14109 Berlin , Germany
Tel 49-30-8062-2442, Fax 49-30-8062-3199, siebentritt@hmi.de |
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