Project MINOTAURE

Excerpt

Multimodal approach: in situ, operando and ex situ characterizations and simulations for new generations of reliable photovoltaic cellules.

Jean-Paul KLEIDER, Research Director CNRS

MINOTAURE addresses the problems of reliability and durability of new photovoltaic cell technologies, which represent a major challenge for their industrialization and market penetration. The project brings together a group of partners with complementary expertise in different fields of characterization and modeling, and plans to deploy this expertise in a global, multimodal approach to apprehend cell degradation mechanisms, analyze and understand them, and then circumvent or eliminate them.

Keywords: Operando, in situ, ex situ, multi-approach, multi-scale, modelling, accelerated ageing

Tasks

Our researches

Supply of study structures

The aim is to select and supply material samples and devices for reliability and modeling studies. These will include structures based on silicon absorbers, perovskites and CIGS alloys, as well as the transport and contact layers needed for the devices to function properly, and any surface coatings (anti-reflective, encapsulants). Part of the samples will come from the IOTA project of the same PEPR TASE and, where appropriate, from projects on related themes. Standardized aging protocols under outdoor conditions will also be proposed in this task.

Operando characterization

Our aim is to study changes in the chemical, mechanical, physical and electronic properties of cell structures under the stress conditions encountered during operation (under voltage and/or illumination). We are aiming for multi-scale studies of the surface and interfaces in perovskites, with chemical, structural and electronic analyses using photoelectron spectroscopy and local probe microscopy, as well as combined operando diffraction mapping, fluorescence and X-ray induced current mapping at the micro/nanometer scale, as well as studies combining transmission electron microscopy, ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry and gas chromatography, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Accelerated aging and in situ monitoring methods

The aim is to deploy accelerated ageing methods, to ensure that they induce the same types of degradation as those encountered over the longer term by cells in real operating conditions, by subjecting the building blocks of new-generation cells to controlled stress factors of various types (chemical, electrical, optoelectronic), and analyzing degradation using in situ techniques.

Ex situ characterization

This task complements the operando and accelerated aging studies in situ by deploying specific ex situ characterization measures, and using them at different stages of degradation of cell building blocks. The objectives are manifold: deployment of new experimental methods or specific improvements to study materials and interfaces, adaptation of techniques to assess defect generation and impact, coupling of characterization tools to enrich diagnostics, assessment of properties over wide spatial (Å – cm) or temporal (fs – s) ranges.

Modeling

Theoretical models and numerical methods will be developed in close interaction with the characterization tasks, to enable analysis of the performance and degradation mechanisms of materials, interfaces and cells, using experimental data from the other project tasks. They will follow a multi-scale methodology based on ab initio calculations at the atomic scale, macroscopic finite element simulations, and data analysis using various tools including artificial intelligence.