Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscope with time-correlated single photon counting

• Subject Area: Condensed Matter Physics ; Electrical Engineering and Information Technology
• Term: from 2021 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 467133067

The proposed spectrometer will facilitate a group of Anhalt University's strongest research scientists to conduct advanced instrumentation-based research in the area of efficiency enhancement and reliability of solar cells and modules. The research questions concern material fatigue, efficiency losses in technology development, production and the operation of photovoltaic elements in real operationTranslated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)Solar cells are semiconductor elements, embedded in polymer protective layers and traded as modules. The aim is to achieve the highest possible output efficiency, but also to maintain this performance for at least 20 years of operation. This long-term stability is currently unsatisfactory in field operation and moreover not sufficiently researched. The annual power loss due to degradation is in some cases twice as high as the maximum allowed to meet warranty requirements. One of the goals of the proposed spectrometer is to better understand the complex interaction of semiconductor and polymer properties during degratation unter realistic operating conditions. Scientific contributions to improved lifetime can realistically be expected. The proposed spectrometer can study both, polymer and semiconductor degradation. The samples are excited by lasers of different wavelengths, which are coupled through optical fibers into a microscope and onto the specimen. The signal is collected in the same microscope and passed via optical fibers into either a spectrometer for time-correlated single photon counting or a Raman spectrograph. The combination of measurement techniques via one microscope with variable outputs allows the materials to be measured at the very same location. Therefore, the measurements are not affected by naturally occurring material variations or inhomogeneities. The lasers and the detectors are chosen to ensure relevant wavelengths and measurement speeds. The combination of measurement techniques allows synergistic use that in many cases gives information that cannot be measured with a single technique. The instrument is jointly applied for by three working groups (WGs). The WG of the lead applicant brings experience in the individual measurement techniques, metrology, instrument development, and laboratory management to the group. The orientation of the WG is PV energy yield related metrology and lifetime energy prediction for PV modules. The WG leader is an internationally renowned expert who has been driving international research development in PV module reliability for years. He has experience in both semiconductor and polymer fields. The second WG deals with semiconductor loss mechanisms and their reduction. The third WG has relevant experience in corrosion phenomena and surface coatings. All WG leaders are internationally leading scientists.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Zeitauflösendes Spektrometer mit korrelierter Einzelphotonenzählung
• Instrumentation Group: 3161 Fluoreszenz-Korrelationsspektrometer
• Applicant Institution: Hochschule Anhalt
• Leader: Professor Dr. Ralph Gottschalg