| Work Detail |
The research project aims to develop new processes and techniques for high-resolution characterisation of materials and thin films, focusing on interfaces. The aim is to enable manufacturers to protect their intellectual property for innovations in areas such as PERC, heterojunction, topcon, backcontact and perovskite tandem cells.
Which photovoltaic manufacturers will emerge as winners in the future depends, among other things, on their respective innovative strength. This is even more true for German and European companies. However, innovative manufacturers can only capitalise on their advantages if they can assert the protection of their intellectual property. This is because inventions in the field of solar cells can be copied and infringements of intellectual property rights are difficult to recognise.
This is where the research project “Protection of Intellectual Property” comes into play, which the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP in Halle (Saale) has launched with other partners: The scientists want to develop preparation and analysis methods that can provide legally secure evidence of patent infringements. This is because manufacturers are increasingly considering the legal and technological protection of intellectual property (IP) for existing and future solar cell technologies in the areas of PERC, heterojunction, Topcon, back-contact cells and perovskite tandem.
“Practically relevant and legally sound material analysis methods for assessing intellectual property infringements are of great interest to the photovoltaic industry,” says Marko Turek, Acting Group Head of Solar Cell Diagnostics and Metrology at Fraunhofer CSP. “They are a prerequisite for the industrial use of research results and affect solar modules already available on international markets today as well as the protection of future patents in early development.”
Research into organic and inorganic layers and interfaces
The project “IP protection – High-resolution material and thin-film analytics for “next generation” solar cell technologies to protect intellectual property for German and European market participants” aims to develop new preparation methods and analytical techniques for the high-resolution characterisation of materials and thin films with a focus on interfaces.
The focus is on methods for large surface preparation and high-resolution characterisation of encapsulated layers, for localisation of microscopic current paths and for evaluation of local passivation properties. These methods will be correlated with simplified and rapid measurement procedures and adapted for routine use. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and will run until March 2027.
«For the development of new preparation methods that will create low-damage analytical access to buried interfaces in solar cells, we are using etching and polishing methods that can be applied over large areas, such as beveled sections based on plasma polishing and ultrashort pulse laser ablation techniques,» says Stefan Lange, project manager for intellectual property protection and acting team leader for solar cell diagnostics at Fraunhofer CSP.
Combined depth profiling methods (TEM, ToF-SIMS, XPS) can be used to analyse organic and inorganic layers and interfaces with the required detection limit and depth resolution down to the atomic range with highest sensitivity. The team uses scanning probe techniques, electron beam-based methods and nanoprocessing to detect material- and process-related microscopic current paths as well as their spatial distribution, size class and specific functional characteristics.
“We can offer companies that want to protect their innovative products the best possible support through our research, so that a clear and legally valid assessment of material and interface properties, together with the principles of cause and effect, is possible in future multi-layer solar cell systems,” explains Lange. |
