Solar Energy Materials and Systems (SEMS) Group

Dep. Electronics and Biomedical Engineering, Fac. Physics

Research Areas: NanoEnergy

The activities of the Solar Energy Materials and Systems Group (SEMS Group) are centred on the development of new materials and processes for advanced thin film PV technologies compatible with the requirements of sustainability, compatibility with industrial mass-production with very low environmental impact, high efficiency and low manufacturing cost. The SEMS Group is very active in the development of thin film technologies based on inorganic chalcogenide compounds, including technologies that are already at the industrial exploitations stage – as those related to Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 (CIGS)- as well as emerging technologies based on new materials such as kesterite (Cu2ZnSn((S,Se)4 (CZTS)) compounds, and new low dimensional chalcogenides including Sb2Se3. This includes also an intense activity in the research and development of advanced characterization methodologies suitable for quality control and process monitoring applications.

The aim is the exploitation of the technological flexibility of chalcogenide based technologies for the development of device and process concepts suitable for next generation PV integrated components and systems, looking for an ubiquitous penetration of PV in all scenarios of human activity. This includes low weight flexible devices for light weight solar roofs, ceramic-based solar tiles for building integration, semi-transparent devices for glass based façades and solar windows, as well as solar harvesting devices for IoT applications.

Main research lines active in the group are:

• Development of new materials and device concepts for advanced cost-efficient PV: Kesterites, wide band-gap chalcogenides, alternative thin film PV semiconductors, bifacial cells, semi-transparent devices, multijunction concepts, alternative flexible / light weight / ceramic substrates;
• Low cost industrial compatible processes for sustainable high efficiency chalcogenide based technologies: Sequential process (sputtering), Electrodeposition, spray pyrolysis, chemical bath deposition, printing;
• Advanced characterization methodologies in thin film PV technologies: Development of techniques suitable for Quality Control & Process Monitoring (multi-wavelength resonant excitation Raman scattering, elastic light scattering, PL…)

Cu2O-Cu@Titanium Surface with Synergistic Performance for Nitrate-to-Ammonia Electrochemical Reduction. Chavez M.E.; Biset-Peiró M.; Murcia-López S.; Morante J.R. 2023, ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 11, 9. Doi: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c05885

Hydrothermal Fabrication of Carbon-Supported Oxide-Derived Copper Heterostructures: A Robust Catalyst System for Enhanced Electro-Reduction of CO2 to C2H4. 2023, ChemSusChem, 16, 19, e202300344. Doi: 10.1002/cssc.202300344

Characterization of the Stability of Indium Tin Oxide and Functional Layers for Semitransparent Back-Contact Applications on Cu(in,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells. Fonoll-Rubio R., Placidi M., Hoelscher T., Thomere A., Li-Kao Z.J., Guc M., Izquierdo-Roca V., Scheer R., Pérez-Rodríguez A. Solar RRL, 6, 7, 2101071, 2022

Ultrathin Wide-Bandgap a-Si:H-Based Solar Cells for Transparent Photovoltaic Applications. Lopez-Garcia A.J., Blazquez O., Voz C., Puigdollers J., Izquierdo-Roca V., Pérez-Rodríguez A. Solar RRL, 6, 1, 2100909, 2022

Combinatorial Analysis Methodologies for Accelerated Research: The Case of Chalcogenide Thin-Film Photovoltaic Technologies. Fonoll-Rubio R., Becerril-Romero I., Vidal-Fuentes P., Grau-Luque E., Atlan F., Perez-Rodriguez A., Izquierdo-Roca V., Guc M. Solar RRL, 6, 9, 2200235, 2022

To grind or not to grind? The influence of mechanical and thermal treatments on the Cu/Zn disorder in Cu2ZnSn(SxSe1-x)4 monograins. Gurieva G., Rotaru V., Ernits K., Siminel N., Manjón-Sanz A., Kirkham M., Perez-Rodriguez A., Guc M., Meissner D., Schorr S. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 248, 112009, 2022

Insights into interface and bulk defects in a high efficiency kesterite-based device. Fonoll-Rubio R., Andrade-Arvizu J., Blanco-Portals J., Becerril-Romero I., Guc M., Saucedo E., Peiró F., Calvo-Barrio L., Ritzer M., Schnohr C.S., Placidi M., Estradé S., Izquierdo-Roca V., Pérez-Rodríguez A. Energy and Environmental Science. 2021, 14, 1

Insights on the Thermal Stability of the Sb2Se3 Quasi-1D Photovoltaic Technology. Vidal-Fuentes P., Guc M., Becerril-Romero I., Sylla D., Alcobé X., Sánchez Y., Pérez-Rodríguez A., Saucedo E., Izquierdo-Roca V. Solar RRL. 2021, 5, 10, 2100517

Rear interface engineering of kesterite Cu2ZnSnSe4 solar cells by adding CuGaSe2 thin layers. Giraldo S., Fonoll-Rubio R., Jehl Li-Kao Z., Sánchez Y., Calvo-Barrio L., Izquierdo-Roca V., Pérez-Rodríguez A., Saucedo E. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications. 2021, 29.3

Tiwari K.J., Fonoll Rubio R., Giraldo S., Calvo-Barrio L., Izquierdo-Roca V., Placidi M., Sanchez Y., Pérez-Rodríguez A., Saucedo E., Jehl Li-Kao Z. Defect depth-profiling in kesterite absorber by means of chemical etching and surface analysis. Applied Surface Science. 2021, 540, 148342

Effective module level encapsulation of CIGS solar cells with Al2O3 thin film grown by atomic layer deposition. Zhang S.-T., Guc M., Salomon O., Wuerz R., Izquierdo-Roca V., Pérez-Rodríguez A., Kessler F., Hempel W., Hildebrandt T., Schneider N. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells. 2021, 222, 110914

Vibrational Properties of RbInSe2: Raman Scattering Spectroscopy and First-Principle Calculations. Guc M., Kodalle T., Kormath Madam Raghupathy R., Mirhosseini H., Kühne T.D., Becerril-Romero I., Pérez-Rodríguez A., Kaufmann C.A., Izquierdo-Roca V. Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2020, 124(2)

Efficient Se-Rich Sb2Se3/CdS Planar Heterojunction Solar Cells by Sequential Processing: Control and Influence of Se Content. Vidal-Fuentes P., Placidi M., Sánchez Y., Becerril-Romero I., Andrade-Arvizu J., Jehl Z., Pérez-Rodríguez A., Izquierdo-Roca V., Saucedo E. Solar RRL, 2020, 4(7).

UV-Selective Optically Transparent Zn(O,S)-Based Solar Cells. Lopez-Garcia A.J., Bauer A., Fonoll Rubio R., Payno D., Jehl Li-Kao Z., Kazim S., Hariskos D., Izquierdo-Roca V., Saucedo E., Pérez-Rodríguez A. Solar RRL, 2020