10-07/08 :: July/August 2010

nanotimes News in Brief

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Solar Cells // Replacement of Amorphous or Nanocrystalline Silicon in Thin Film Solar Cells by a Nanosponge Made of Silicon

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cientists of the German research center Dresden- Rossendorf found a way to replace the amor-

phous or nanocrystalline silicon in thin film solar cells, which have a low efficiency, by a nanosponge made of silicon. It promises to be a good light absor- ber while improving the electrical yield of the solar cells. The silicon nanosponges are embedded in glass, thus they are electrically passivated and pro- tected from the environment.

Dr. Karl-Heinz Heinig of the Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research at the FZD coor- dinates an international research project which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and was started in April this year. The researchers involved in the project aim at finding ways to fabricate silicon nanosponges, investigating their photoelectric characteristics as well as applying the nanosponges for solar cell production. The pos- sibility to increase the efficiency of solar cells, which was discovered at the FZD, can be easily adapted to existing production lines, affording only little changes and a low increase in production costs.

The research project is funded by the German Fe- deral Ministry of Education and Research and was started in April 2010. Partners from industry are the solar cell producers Signet Solar from the German region of Saxony and the Turkish Nurol Technolo-

© Signet Solar GmbH

gies enterprises. The two Turkish universities Middle East Technical University and Bilkent University in Ankara are cooperating in the project, which is fo- cused on the investigation of fundamental problems.

Contact: Dr. Karl-Heinz Heinig, Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research at the FZD, Phone: +49 (0)351 260 - 3288: http://www.fzd.de

http://www.signetsolar.com/