- Email: [email protected]
Mr R W Birkmire
706
Wodd Renew~le Energy ~ t w o ~
MR R W BIRKMIRE UNIVERSITY
Newark,
O F DELAWARE,
DE 19716-3820,
INSTITUTE O F E N E R G Y
CONVERSION
USA
The Institute of Energy Conversion (IEC) at the University of Delaware is a m u l t i d i s c i p l i n a r y laboratory devoted to research and development of thin-film photovoltaic cells. IEC's research program is complemented by an educational mission that enables both undergraduate and graduate students to obtain degrees while working with professionals engaged in solar cell research. IEC was recently designated a University Center of Excellence for Photovoltaic Research and Education, an award given by the United States Department of Energy to only two institutions in the United Sates. IEC is the only University Center of Excellence supported by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Purposes of the Institute Since its inception in 1972, IEC has taken the lead in the development of thin-film photovoltaic cells and the education of students and professionals with expertise in photovoltaic research, development and design. Central to the Institute's research today is the design, fabrication and analysis of solar cells made from the following inexpensive thin-film semiconductor materials : Cadmium telluride; copper indium diselenide and amorphous silicon. IEC has made the materials and devices necessary to evaluate these thin-film cells at the laboratory scale. Solar cells with conversion efficiencies of over ten per cent have been achieved with all of these materials. In its effort to help the photovoltaic community to achieve commercially viable solar modules, IEC has concentrated on developing, implementing, and analysing laboratory experiments which provide essential information for the manufacture of largearea photovoltaic modules. To do this effectively, the Institute's m u l t i - d i s c i p l i n a r y team of physicists, material scientists and electrical and chemical engineers work together in an integrated approach encompassing : materials synthesis; process equipment design and operation; and device design and analysis. Policy and A p p l i c a t i o n Studies IEC collaborates with the University of Delaware's Center for Energy and Urban Policy Research in its effort to educate the public on the need for photovoltaic electric power generation as part of our national environmental and energy policy. Education at IEC IEC uses its m u l t i d i s c i p l i n a r y underpinnings to educational advantage, providing students with opportunities ranging from purely theoretical research to laboratory work geared toward
707
Biographies of WREN Members
practical applications. Students involved with IEC learn how to interact effectively with engineers and scientists engaged in long-term research programs in photovoltaics. IEC's educational accomplishments include : Training of over 50 photovoltaic industry;
professionals
active
in
today's
Educating over 20 Ph.D. graduates and over 50 M.S. graduates with research in photovoltaics; Providing undergraduates from selected science, engineering, and social science disciplines with unique opportunities to participate in current research programs in IEC. INTERACTIONS
WITH
INDUSTRY
IEC's mission extends well beyond the academic community as it works to increase industrial and government involvement in photovoltaics. IEC's technology transfer efforts have involved joint research contracts and publications, the exchange of thinfilm samples, and the design and analysis of research equipment. IEC's industrial contacts include the following : American Cyanamid; Ametek; ARCO Solar; Astropower; Battelle-Columbus Memorial Institute; Bell Labs; Boeing Electronics; Chevron; Chronar Corp./APS; Dow Corning; DuPont; EPRI; General Electric; Glasstech Solar Industries; Hercules; International Display Materials; International Solar Electric Technology; Lockheed Corp.; Martin Marietta; Mobil Solar; MV Systems; Pacific Scientific; Photon Energy; Photon Power; Polaroid Corp.; RCA Laboratories; Sayles & Scheel Enterprise; ShelI/SES; Siemens Solar Industries; SOHIO; Solar Cells, Inc.; Solarex Corp. (Amoco); Spire Corp.; Telic Corp; 3M; Union Carbide Corp; and Westinghouse. ASAHI Glass Company of Japan; BP Solar; FUJI Electric; Leybold Heraeus; Michrochemie of Finland; and Solems of France. OTHER
COOPERATIVE
VENTURES
IEC has developed extensive contacts in its efforts to bring together engineers and scientists working in photovoltaics from universities and laboratories in the United States and abroad. In addition to providing other institutions with solar cells and thin-film samples for their own research, IEC has initiated the exchange of students, scholars, and scientists and has encouraged joint publication. IEC's university and foreign university contacts include the following : Brown University; California Institute of Technology; Clarkson University; Cleveland State University; Colorado State University; Drexel University; Florida Solar Energy Center; Georgia Institute of Technology; Harvard University; Howard University; Iowa State University; Johns Hopkins; Lawrence Berkeley Labs; Lincoln University; North Carolina
708
World Renewable Energy Network
State University; Ohio State University; Pennsylvania State University; Princeton University; Purdue University; Southern Methodist University, Stanford University; University of Arkansas; University of Hawaii; University of Illinois; University of Maine; University of North Carolina; University of Oregon; University of Rochester; University of Toledo; Villanova University; and Virginia Polytechnic University. w
Fraunhofer Institute; Indian Institute of Technology; Jilin University, Peoples Republic of China; National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan; Newcastle upon Tyne Polytechnic; Swiss Federal Institute of Technology; Tokyo Institute of Technology; University of Neuchatel; University of Science & Technology, Peoples Republic of China; University of Stuttgart; University of Upsala; University of Waterloo; University of Wroclaw and Weizman Institute.
Wodd Renew~le Energy ~ t w o ~
MR R W BIRKMIRE UNIVERSITY
Newark,
O F DELAWARE,
DE 19716-3820,
INSTITUTE O F E N E R G Y
CONVERSION
USA
The Institute of Energy Conversion (IEC) at the University of Delaware is a m u l t i d i s c i p l i n a r y laboratory devoted to research and development of thin-film photovoltaic cells. IEC's research program is complemented by an educational mission that enables both undergraduate and graduate students to obtain degrees while working with professionals engaged in solar cell research. IEC was recently designated a University Center of Excellence for Photovoltaic Research and Education, an award given by the United States Department of Energy to only two institutions in the United Sates. IEC is the only University Center of Excellence supported by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Purposes of the Institute Since its inception in 1972, IEC has taken the lead in the development of thin-film photovoltaic cells and the education of students and professionals with expertise in photovoltaic research, development and design. Central to the Institute's research today is the design, fabrication and analysis of solar cells made from the following inexpensive thin-film semiconductor materials : Cadmium telluride; copper indium diselenide and amorphous silicon. IEC has made the materials and devices necessary to evaluate these thin-film cells at the laboratory scale. Solar cells with conversion efficiencies of over ten per cent have been achieved with all of these materials. In its effort to help the photovoltaic community to achieve commercially viable solar modules, IEC has concentrated on developing, implementing, and analysing laboratory experiments which provide essential information for the manufacture of largearea photovoltaic modules. To do this effectively, the Institute's m u l t i - d i s c i p l i n a r y team of physicists, material scientists and electrical and chemical engineers work together in an integrated approach encompassing : materials synthesis; process equipment design and operation; and device design and analysis. Policy and A p p l i c a t i o n Studies IEC collaborates with the University of Delaware's Center for Energy and Urban Policy Research in its effort to educate the public on the need for photovoltaic electric power generation as part of our national environmental and energy policy. Education at IEC IEC uses its m u l t i d i s c i p l i n a r y underpinnings to educational advantage, providing students with opportunities ranging from purely theoretical research to laboratory work geared toward
707
Biographies of WREN Members
practical applications. Students involved with IEC learn how to interact effectively with engineers and scientists engaged in long-term research programs in photovoltaics. IEC's educational accomplishments include : Training of over 50 photovoltaic industry;
professionals
active
in
today's
Educating over 20 Ph.D. graduates and over 50 M.S. graduates with research in photovoltaics; Providing undergraduates from selected science, engineering, and social science disciplines with unique opportunities to participate in current research programs in IEC. INTERACTIONS
WITH
INDUSTRY
IEC's mission extends well beyond the academic community as it works to increase industrial and government involvement in photovoltaics. IEC's technology transfer efforts have involved joint research contracts and publications, the exchange of thinfilm samples, and the design and analysis of research equipment. IEC's industrial contacts include the following : American Cyanamid; Ametek; ARCO Solar; Astropower; Battelle-Columbus Memorial Institute; Bell Labs; Boeing Electronics; Chevron; Chronar Corp./APS; Dow Corning; DuPont; EPRI; General Electric; Glasstech Solar Industries; Hercules; International Display Materials; International Solar Electric Technology; Lockheed Corp.; Martin Marietta; Mobil Solar; MV Systems; Pacific Scientific; Photon Energy; Photon Power; Polaroid Corp.; RCA Laboratories; Sayles & Scheel Enterprise; ShelI/SES; Siemens Solar Industries; SOHIO; Solar Cells, Inc.; Solarex Corp. (Amoco); Spire Corp.; Telic Corp; 3M; Union Carbide Corp; and Westinghouse. ASAHI Glass Company of Japan; BP Solar; FUJI Electric; Leybold Heraeus; Michrochemie of Finland; and Solems of France. OTHER
COOPERATIVE
VENTURES
IEC has developed extensive contacts in its efforts to bring together engineers and scientists working in photovoltaics from universities and laboratories in the United States and abroad. In addition to providing other institutions with solar cells and thin-film samples for their own research, IEC has initiated the exchange of students, scholars, and scientists and has encouraged joint publication. IEC's university and foreign university contacts include the following : Brown University; California Institute of Technology; Clarkson University; Cleveland State University; Colorado State University; Drexel University; Florida Solar Energy Center; Georgia Institute of Technology; Harvard University; Howard University; Iowa State University; Johns Hopkins; Lawrence Berkeley Labs; Lincoln University; North Carolina
708
World Renewable Energy Network
State University; Ohio State University; Pennsylvania State University; Princeton University; Purdue University; Southern Methodist University, Stanford University; University of Arkansas; University of Hawaii; University of Illinois; University of Maine; University of North Carolina; University of Oregon; University of Rochester; University of Toledo; Villanova University; and Virginia Polytechnic University. w
Fraunhofer Institute; Indian Institute of Technology; Jilin University, Peoples Republic of China; National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan; Newcastle upon Tyne Polytechnic; Swiss Federal Institute of Technology; Tokyo Institute of Technology; University of Neuchatel; University of Science & Technology, Peoples Republic of China; University of Stuttgart; University of Upsala; University of Waterloo; University of Wroclaw and Weizman Institute.