Our PV Characterisation and Calibration Laboratory will offer state-of-the-art characterisation services on both silicon wafer based and silicon thin-film based solar cell materials and devices. The lab’s services are available to academia and industry, at competitive rates. The laboratory will be fully operational in Q3/2009, but several measurement techniques are already available.

With respect to materials, the planned characterisation tools include:

• photo- and electroluminescence imaging

• optical surface profilometer

• UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopic ellipsometer with mapping capability (200 mm x 200 mm)

• large-area (up to 1 m²) optical vision surface profilometer

• optical microscope (including DIC mode)

• Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

• carrier lifetime tester for Si wafers and ingots

• UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer

• secondary ion mass spectrometry

• transmission electron microscopy

• scanning electron microscopy

• X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy

For device characterisation and calibration one-sun solar cell efficiency measurements, the planned tools include:

• a high-precision (super class A) large-area (210 mm × 210 mm) solar simulator

• a high-precision large-area (210 mm × 210 mm) differential spectral response analyser

• an electrical impedance analyser

• photo- and electroluminescence imaging