Autumn School on Microstructural Characterization and Modelling of Thin Film Solar Cells
From November 2 ‐ 7, 2014, an Autumn school is organised as part of the Helmholtz Virtual Institute Microstructure Control for Thin‐Film Solar Cells
Contact: autumn.school@helmholtz-berlin.de
In research and development of solar cells, the issue of microstructure and its impact on the device performance is often regarded inadequately, mostly because of insufficient knowledge about analysis and simulation methods. Apart from the microstructural properties of completed thin films in semiconductor devices, it is also of concern how the microstructure develops during growth.
The school aims at giving insight into various techniques for microstructural analysis as well as simulation methods of the growth of crystalline materials apart from a session on electricalmaterials and device characterization. Each session will comprise a keynote lecture of an expert in the corresponding field, followed by a 2‐3 hours hands‐on tutorial, giving the participants the possibility to get deeper into the topic, with the help of a specific question to be solved in teamwork practices.
Two poster sessions are also planned as evening events, which intensify the discussions and scientific exchange between experts and participants.
- BESSY II: Evaporated perovskites in tandem solar cells improvedPerovskite-silicon tandem solar cells achieve significantly higher efficiencies than silicon solar cells on their own. One particularly attractive method is co-evaporation of the perovskite precursor molecules on top of the silicon subcell. Scientists at HZB have analysed film growth on the nanoscale at BESSY II and found a new way to improve the quality of the perovskite layer: adding a thin seed layer of caesium chloride between the two sub-cells promotes uniform perovskite growth and suppresses the formation of undesired lead iodide at the interface.
- Hatice Mutlu appointed to the Helmholtz Institute HIPOLE in JenaProf. Dr Hatice Mutlu is the new professor of sustainable polymer chemistry at HIPOLE Jena, the Helmholtz Institute for Polymers in Energy Applications. On 17 August 2026, she visited the HZB campus in Berlin-Adlershof including the BESSY II lightsource and discussed future collaboration with researchers and the board of directors.
- Green hydrogen with PEC electrolysers: New insights into transport processesOne method of storing solar energy is to use PEC electrolysers to produce hydrogen. However, scaling up this technology remains challenging. Now, a team at the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels has used 2D fluorescence imaging and particle velocimetry to observe the movement of ions and dissolved gases within the electrolyte during electrolysis. These new insights may prove useful in the development of larger PEC electrolysers.