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.
- Freeze casting - a guide to creating hierarchically structured materialsFreeze casting is an elegant, cost-effective manufacturing technique to produce highly porous materials with custom-designed hierarchical architectures, well-defined pore orientation, and multifunctional surface structures. Freeze-cast materials are suitable for many applications, from biomedicine to environmental engineering and energy technologies. An article in "Nature Reviews Methods Primer" now provides a guide to freeze-casting methods that includes an overview on current and future applications and highlights characterization techniques with a focus on X-ray tomoscopy.
- Cooperation with the Korea Institute of Energy ResearchOn Friday, 19 April 2024, the Scientific Director of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Bernd Rech, and the President of the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), Yi Chang-Keun, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Daejeon (South Korea).
- Clean cooking fuel with a great impact for southern AfricaBurning biomass for cooking causes harmful environmental and health issues. The German-South African GreenQUEST initiative is developing a clean household fuel. It aims to reduce climate-damaging CO2 emissions and to improve access to energy for households in sub-Saharan Africa.