Characterizing and quantifying the effect of mobile ion dynamics in Perovskite solar cells
Master projects/internships - Genk | More than two weeks ago
Improve the energy yield estimate of the perovskite technology
Perovskites are the next-gen photovoltaic (PV) technology with promising high efficiency and economical manufacturing. This technology has huge application potential in integrated photovoltaics. They are also the preferred technology for tandem solar cells. Perovskites are still at lab scale and huge efforts are made to commercialize this technology. Scientists at IMEC-IMOMEC are working to accelerate the development of this technology. The thin film PV team is developing the technology while the Energy systems team is developing the modelling infrastructure to estimate the potential of the device.
Modelling the current – Voltage (IV) characteristics of the solar cell is sufficient to estimate the power delivered by it. However, Perovskites are unique compared to other PV technologies. They exhibit anomalous behaviors such as the slow response to operating point changes, reversible degradation, and recovery. These anomalous behaviors are attributed to the mobile ions within the perovskite absorber layer. We are currently modelling the ion dynamics within the cell, thereby estimating the real performance of the device at different operating conditions.
The aim of this master thesis:
- To characterize the multiple perovskite cells at different operating conditions and understand the effect of the ion dynamics on the IV characteristics.
- Assist in model development to include the characterized behavior.
- Test the suitability of the model for different perovskite cell stacks.
Preferred background: Physics, electrical engineering, or chemical engineering. Good programming skills (Python or MATLAB) are necessary.
Type of work: 15% literature review, 65% characterization, 10% model development and validation and 10% result generation and reporting.
Type of Project: Thesis
Master's degree: Master of Engineering Science; Master of Engineering Technology
Master program: Energy; Physics; Electrotechnics/Electrical Engineering; Electromechanical engineering
Duration: 6-9 months
Supervising scientist(s): For further information or for application, please contact Jef Poortmans (jef.poortmans@imec.be) and Santhosh Ramesh (santhosh.ramesh@imec.be)