Materials Science and Technology Empa

 

Opens external link in new windowEmpa is a Swiss federal research institution for Materials Science and Technology with facilities in St.Gallen, Thun and Dübendorf.

 

The Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics (Prof. Dr. Ayodhya N. Tiwari) located in Dübendorf focuses on various energy relevant topics such as thin film solar cell devices, batteries as well as printed electronics.

The activities on thin film solar cell devices based on Cu(In,Ga)Se2 absorber are coordinated by Dr. Stephan Buecheler. The laboratory is equipped with various PVD systems such as thermal co-evaporation chambers, sputtering tools, e-beam evaporators, an ALD system to deposit metal contacts, diffusion barriers, absorber material and window layers.
Several characterization techniques are available for solar cells and thin films in general. Compositional and structural analysis includes XRF and EDX, SIMS, SEM and XRD. Optical and electrical characterization is conducted by IV(T), EQE, (TR)PL, EL, spectrophotometry, ellipsometry, admittance spectroscopy and CV and EBIC. In addition to these characterization techniques simulations in 2D and 3D are carried out using Synopsis TCAD aiding in interpretation of advanced measurement results.