Function: Postdoctoral researcher

Contract Type: CDD

Starting Date: ASAP

Working Place: UMR IPVF, 18 boulevard Thomas Gobert, 91120 Palaiseau (FRANCE)

Duration: 18 months

Education: PhD in Physics or related (optical setup, spectroscopy, data analysis…)

IPVF IN BRIEF

Become an actor of the Energy Transition by joining a team driven by innovation and impact to address today’s most decisive challenges.

IPVF – Institut Photovoltaïque d’Île-de-France, is a global Research, Innovation and Education center, which mission is to accelerate energy transition through science & technology.
Gathering industrial PV leaders (EDF, TotalEnergies, Air Liquide, Horiba and Riber) and world-renowned academic research organizations (CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique), multi-disciplinary and international IPVF teams conduct research for clean energy technologies. Supported by the French State, IPVF is labelled Institute for Energy Transition (ITE).

Research activities range from silicon technologies to thin film technologies based on CIGS, III-V or perovskites. The IPVF hosts about 150 researchers from different backgrounds, specializing in physics, chemistry, materials science, optics and nanoscience, in a stimulating research environment.

IPVF at a glance:
• An ambitious Scientific and Technological Program (6 programs divided in 24 work packages): from tandem solar cell technologies to economy & market assessment, state-of-the art characterization, photocatalysis and breakthrough concepts.
• State-of-the-art technological platform (8,000m²): more than 100 cutting-edge equipments worth €30M, located in cleanrooms (advanced characterization, materials deposition, prototypes for fabrication, modelling…).
• High-standard Education program (M.S. and PhD students).

JOB CONTEXT

The research will be conducted within the framework of the European project CITYSOLAR recently awarded under the H2020 program. CITYSOLAR brings together leading European academic (CNR-ISM, FAU, SDU, UNITOV, CNRS) and industrial (ENI, EDF, Hglass) actors, as well as two non-European partners (BM, KAUST) belonging to Mission Innovation countries specialized in the synthesis of advanced materials for hybrid and organic solar cells, in order to develop transparent and highly efficient solar cells and modules for Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV). The total duration of the project is three years, with the objective of a proof of concept at the module level on a surface area larger than 100 cm2.
The project will be carried out at the IPVF (Institut Photovoltaïque d’Ile de France – www.ipvf.fr), located in the heart of the new Paris-Saclay campus, in close collaboration with the other partners of the consortium. The IPVF has about 8,000 m2 of space, including 4,000 m2 of clean room laboratories, which allows for advanced studies in manufacturing, characterization and modeling of materials, interfaces and solar cell devices.

MAIN MISSIONS

Widespread use of renewable energy, from utility scale to local energy collection, is a prerequisite for a global paradigm shift in sustainable energy sources. One of the best strategies to facilitate this paradigm shift is to integrate photovoltaics into objects and in particular into buildings, integrating energy sources into the building envelope without impacting architectural requirements. For this reason, transparent photovoltaics (TPV) plays a fundamental role in the full acceptance of building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), and in general in modern architecture. In this application, the partial optical transparency of the cells becomes a critical requirement, which conventional photovoltaic technology cannot meet. However, recent developments in third generation photovoltaics, namely high bandgap perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and low bandgap, fullerene-free organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells, pave the way for harvesting portions of the solar spectrum that reduce the impact on window transparency.
The main objective of this project is to develop lightweight transparent photovoltaic cells and modules with high visible average transparency (AVT≥50), efficiency well beyond the state of the art ≥ 15%, and color neutrality control by combining, in a multijunction device, a top-positioned near ultraviolet (NUV) halide-based perovskite and a bottom near infrared (NIR) polymer photovoltaic cell, exploiting advanced light management concepts such as photonic crystals, nanophotonics and photon recycling. Photovoltaic modules will be fabricated independently on rigid or flexible substrates and then laminated with appropriate intermediate layers to fabricate a two-terminal multijunction structure.
This two-year postdoctoral position focuses on the development of OPV-Perovskite tandem technology, ranging from fundamental materials and interface studies to characterization and optimization of complete single-junction and tandem devices. The candidate will use advanced optoelectronic characterization methods based on photoluminescence (PL) and electro-luminescence (EL) imaging to quantify the losses of perovskite and single- and multi-junction OPV devices. More specifically, state-of-the-art characterization methods developed in the host laboratory, such as hyperspectral imaging and time-resolved fluorescence imaging (TR-FLIM), will be coupled to numerical models, which take into account diffusion drift phenomena, electron-hole recombination and well-established reciprocity relations describing PL and EL emission.

MAIN ACTIVITIES:

– Optical and electrical characterization of halide perovskite in the near ultraviolet (NUV) and polymer solar cells in the near infrared (NIR) by multidimensional imaging.
– Study of the main losses affecting single junction and tandem cells
– Understanding the degradation mechanisms of thin films, interfaces and cells.

MORE INFORMATION:

https://www.citysolar-h2020.eu/

PROFILE

– PhD in Physics, electrical engineering.
– Strong expertise in optical and electrical characterization of thin films, solar cells and modules.
– Deep knowledge of solar cell and module technologies, ideally perovskite.
– Teamwork and problem solving.

CONTACT

CNRS/EDF research group: Stefania Cacovich (optical characterization, CNRS), Daniel Ory (optical and electrical characterization, EDF), Philip Schulz (interfaces, CNRS), Jean François Guillemoles (theory and physics, CNRS), Jean-Baptiste Puel (theory and modeling, EDF).
The application file must include: a cover letter, a CV, the names and contact information of 2 to 3 references (name, link with the candidate, e-mail and phone number), an electronic copy of your most significant research publications (journal or conference publication).