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This page contains some information about my work in photovoltaics.

The picture shows my hand holding a 5x5 cm2 solar cell I processed from a RGS (Ribbon Growth on Substrate) wafer. RGS is a so called silicon ribbon material. Silicon ribbons are thin (250 µm and below) silicon wafers which are directly casted from the silicon melt.

In contrast to silicon ribbon, silicon wafers are typically wire-cut from block casted silicon ingots which results in a cerf loss of roughly 50% of the material.

The image was shot with an infrared camera system which is sensible in the 3...5 µm wavelength range.

Silicon is transparent in this wavelength range due to the smaller photon energy compared to the bandgap energy of the semiconductor.

The screen printed front- and backside side metallisation (grid structure) can be seen.

Red areas indicate warmer, blue areas colder temperatures of the hand and the solar cell.