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Photovoltaic Fundamental Research

Photo of an NREL researcher using a close-space sublimation system.

Here, inside one of the laboratories at the Solar Energy Research Facility, a researcher uses a close-space sublimation system to make and study high-quality thin-film cadmium telluride photovoltaic (PV) cells. The Center for Photovoltaics and Electronic Materials has set world-record efficiencies for several PV devices.

R&D activities within Fundamental Research include the following areas:

Measurements and Characterization

Includes activities that cut across all types of projects—from basic R&D, to module and system performance, to solar resource assessment and characterization. An important part of any of the tasks in other areas involves measuring and characterizing both the present state and latest progress.

Basic Research

Includes basic studies by our university centers of excellence, DOE national laboratories, and subcontracted industry partners. The work focuses on:

  • Electronic materials and devices, especially studying defects and structure.

  • Material and device processing science, including developing a new class of deposition, processing, and characterization tools to allow us to integrate processes and diagnostics in a flexible manner and to provide the ability to study research problems previously difficult or impossible to pursue.

High-performance Advanced Research

Includes developing higher-performance devices attained by using tandem or multijunction solar cells. Such structures show higher overall efficiency by using a broader portion of the solar spectrum and more efficiently converting individual photons. Present efforts are directed toward choosing and improving materials and processes that can maximize performance and offer low-cost manufacturing potential.