Rondiya Group

MT 273 (AUG) 3:0
Semiconductor Films: Deposition and Spectroscopic Characterization
Instructor: Sachin R. Rondiya

This course focuses on the imparting fundamental understanding of the working principles of advanced high vacuum deposition techniques used for the fabrication of semiconductor thin films and devices. The necessary theoretical background, important mechanisms associated with growth of films, and the working principles of various optical spectroscopic techniques will be covered.

Semiconductor fundamentals: Common semiconducting materials and their crystal structures; Intrinsic and extrinsic point defects in semiconductors; Electronic band structure; Defect states and their influence on semiconducting properties.

Thin film growth processes: Nucleation and growth mechanisms; uncorrelated or random deposition; surface diffusion-controlled growth; ballistic deposition; shadowing effects, etc.

Thin film deposition techniques: Hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HW-CVD); plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD); atomic layer deposition (ALD); pulse laser deposition (PLD); RF sputtering, physical vapor deposition (PVD); DC sputtering; Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE); thermal evaporation; etc.

Spectroscopic characterization of semiconductors: Ultraviolet-visible-near infrared spectroscopy (UV-Vis-NIR); photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL); time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy (TRPL); transient spectroscopy (TAS); etc.

Hands-on laboratory sessions: Hands-on laboratory sessions and practical demonstrations will be conducted for a few high vacuum deposition techniques and spectroscopic measurements for a few semiconductors’ thin films.

References
Thin Film Deposition: Principles and Practice by Donald L. Smith
Spectroscopic Methods in Organic Chemistry by Dudley H. Williams and Ian Fleming
Principles of Instrumental Analysis by Douglas A. Skoog, F. James Holler, and Stanley R. Crouch
Introduction to Spectroscopy by Donald L. Pavia, Gary M. Lampman, George S. Kriz, and James R. Vyvyan
Handbook of Deposition Technologies for Films and Coatings by Peter M. Martin
Handbook of Compound Semiconductors: Growth, Processing, Characterization, and Devices” edited by Paul H. Holloway and Craig T. Lin
Handbook of Deposition Technologies for Films and Coatings by Peter M. Martin
Photoluminescence Spectroscopy of Semiconductors by D. Bimberg, M. Grundmann, and N. N. Ledentsov
Handbook of Optical Constants of Solids by Edward D. Palik
Handbook of Solid-State Lasers: Materials, Systems, and Applications edited by B. Denker and K. Mehrl

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Course Title: Solar PV Manufacturing and Packaging
Instructor: Sachin R. Rondiya and Praveen Ramamurthy

This course covers manufacturing and packaging strategies for Silicon, Perovskite, and Thin-Film PV modules, preparing students for careers in PV R&D and industrial production.

Module 1: Industrial Solar Cells ” From Lab to Fab
Covers key differences between lab-scale and commercial PV manufacturing. Topics include Crystalline Silicon processes (ingot growth, wafering, doping, module assembly), Thin-Film techniques (CVD, sputtering, encapsulation), and scalable Perovskite/Tandem PV processes addressing stability and integration.

Module 2: Deposition, Solution Processing & Doping Techniques
Deposition: CVD, sputtering, co-evaporation, inkjet printing (thin-film); spin, blade, slot-die, vapour deposition (perovskites).

Large-Area Processing: Scalable coating methods (slot-die, inkjet) for perovskite/tandem modules; film uniformity and defect control.

Doping & Ancillary: Boron/phosphorus diffusion (Si), alkali treatments (CIGS), perovskite tuning, metallisation, encapsulation, and reliability testing.

Module 3: Packaging & Moisture Control
Explores PV module structure (cells, encapsulants, back/front sheets, junction boxes), mechanical/optical/electrical/moisture protection, and key failure modes. Covers encapsulant properties (EVA, POE, TPU), degradation, gel content, WVTR requirements, test methods (Ca-test, MOCON, CRDS), sealing challenges, and durability comparisons of glass vs. polymer sheets.

Module 4: Manufacturing Integration & Reliability
Lamination parameters (temperature, vacuum, pressure, dwell), inline QC (peel, gel, thermal), edge sealing, and junction box integration for various module types (glass-glass, bifacial, flexible). Discusses defect detection (EL, IR, IV), packaging failures (delamination, yellowing, corrosion), environmental stress testing (UV, heat, humidity), and standards (IEC 61215/61730, UL 1703).

Hands-on laboratory: (1) WVTR measurements (Calcium Degradation, CRDS); (2) Degradation analysis under damp heat and UV; (3) PV module teardown for packaging layer analysis; (4) Utilise EL and IR imaging to detect packaging-related defects.

References:
Solar Cells: Materials, Manufacture and Operation: Edited by Tom Markvart and Luis Castner: Publisher Elsevier
Advanced Characterisation Techniques for Thin Film Solar Cells: Edited by Daniel Abou-Ras, Thomas Kirchartz, Uwe Rau
Physics of Solar Cells: from Principles to New Concepts by Peter Wurfel: Publisher Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KgaA
Fundamentals of Solar Cells: Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conversion by Alan L Fahrenbruch and Richard H Bube: Academic Press
Cu(In_1-xGa_x)Se₂ Based Thin Film Solar Cells: Edited by Vladimir Agranovich, Volume 35, Publisher Elsevier.
Copper Zinc Tin Sulfide-Based Thin-Film Solar Cells: Edited by KEntaro Ito. Publisher Wiley.
Vacuum Technology: Edited by Alexander Roth. Publisher Elsevier.
Chemical solution deposition of semiconductor films: Edited by Gary Hodes. Publisher Marcel Dekker, Inc.
Organic Inorganic Halide Perovskite Photovoltaics From Fundamentals to Device Architectures: Edited by Nam-Gyu Park Michael Grätzel Tsutomu Miyasaka. Publisher Springer.
Photovoltaic Materials: Edited by Richard H, Bube. Publisher Imperial College London Press.