A new programme of silicon materials research led by the University of Warwick aims to lower the cost of electricity from photovoltaic (PV) solar cells.

Silicon PV is a major renewable technology, accounting for ~90% of the world’s PV market. Impurities and crystal defects in the silicon wafers give rise to reductions in cell efficiency. Researchers at Warwick, Oxford and Manchester aim to mitigate these by developing new gettering and passivation processes. The goal is to enhance the carrier lifetime of cheaper forms of silicon to provide higher efficiencies at lower cost.

“The cost of renewable energy is often more than that derived from fossil fuels, but the potential of PV is enormous”, says lead researcher Dr John Murphy from Warwick’s School of Engineering. “Unfortunately, in most circumstances, no PV technology yet delivers adequately low-cost electricity and the quality of silicon is a factor determining the upper efficiency limit”.

The research is part of a new multi-institution project to improve materials used in crystalline silicon solar cells. The project entitled “SuperSilicon PV: extending the limits of material performance” has received £1.3m of EPSRC funding, with a further £360k contribution from industrial and international research partners. Project partners include some of the world’s leading manufacturers of silicon wafers, silicon solar cells and characterisation equipment.

“Crystalline silicon photovoltaic solar cells have already made a real impact in the world’s electricity generation market. The cost of the technology has fallen substantially in recent years and further reductions will drive the unsubsidised viability limit further into northern Europe. Our consortium aims to make advances in underpinning materials science and to exploit these to develop more cost-effective silicon materials for PV”, says Dr Murphy.

The project is associated with Warwick’s Global Research Priority for Energy http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/research/priorities/energy/ and falls under the umbrella of EPSRC’s Supergen Solar Hub https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/supersolar-hub.