SU – PV Manufacturing and Testing Facility

The project team members will have free access state-of-the-art device and material characterization facilities owned and operated by SPECIFIC, Swansea University. The suite of thin film characterization equipment includes FEGSEM, XPS, XRD, FTIR, Raman, SKP-AFM, UV-Vis and emission spectroscopy. Materials can be tested using independent or hyphenated thermal analysis (STA-FTIR-GCMS). Facilities for the complete fabrication and characterization of solar cells, including Oriel Sol Class AAA solar simulators, quantum efficiency (QE) apparatus, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry and optoelectronic transient and charge extraction measurements can be performed. Industrially relevant printing and coating equipment designed and acquired with 3rd generation photovoltaic material in mind are housed in our humidity and atmospheric controlled clean-room and include slot-die (via R2R and S2S), inkjet, screen printing, blade, bar, flexographic and gravure deposition methods. The extensive facilities for lifetime analysis include bespoke capabilities for in-situ testing of materials and devices with the ability to independently vary oxygen, humidity, light and temperature whilst applying any necessary bias. A capability also exists for external weathering as part of our PV analysis setup which is integrated into our active buildings.