Our research group operates with a combination of in-house instrumentation, core facilities at the MIB-SOLAR Center, and shared Departmental laboratories.
Synthesis and Thin-Film Deposition
- Spin coater (Group facility)- For solution-based deposition of kesterite, perovskite precursor films and charge transport layers.
- Blade coater (Group facility) – For solution-based deposition of kesterite precursor films.
- Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) (Department facility) – For the conformal growth of ultra-thin functional layers (e.g., metal oxides and aesthetic coloured coatings).
- RF/DC magnetron sputter (MIB-SOLAR Center)- For high-quality vacuum deposition of transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) and metal electrodes.
- Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) (Group facility)- For the low-temperature controlled growth of uniform buffer layers.
- Thermal evaporator (MIB-SOLAR Center)- For the high-vacuum deposition of top metal contacts and thin organic layers.
- Nitrogen gloveboxes (MIB-SOLAR Center and Group facility)- Providing an inert environment for the preparation and handling of air-sensitive materials.
- Tubular Furnaces (Group facility) – For high-temperature and controlled-atmosphere thermal annealing.
- Schlenk line (Group facility) – For air-free chemical synthesis and inert-gas atmosphere processing (e.g., synthesis of kesterite nanoparticles).
- UV ozone system (MIB-SOLAR Center)- For substrate cleaning and surface energy modification before film deposition.
- Laser scriber (MIB-SOLAR Center)- For high-precision laser scribing and selective etching of transparent conductive oxides (FTO/ITO).
Materials Characterisation
- X-ray Diffraction (XRD) (Department facility)- For crystal structure determination, phase identification, and crystallinity analysis of thin films.
- Raman spectroscopy (Department facility)- For structural fingerprinting and phase identification.
- UV-Vis spectroscopy (Department facility)- For evaluating optical transmittance, reflectance, absorbance, and determining the optical bandgap of semiconductor films.
- Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) (Department facility and University facility)- For high-resolution morphological inspection of film surfaces and device cross-sections.
- Transmission Electron Spectroscopy (TEM) (University facility) – For atomic-scale structural analysis and morphological evaluation of synthesized nanoparticles.
- Hall measurements (MIB-SOLAR Center) – For determining carrier concentration, mobility, and resistivity of semiconductor layers.
- Sinton (Group facility)- For lifetime testing and transient photoconductance measurements of carrier dynamics.
- Profilometer (MIB-SOLAR Center)- For accurate step-height measurements to determine thin-film thickness and surface roughness.
Device Characterisation
- External Quantum Efficiency (EQE) (MIB-SOLAR Center)-For assessing the wavelength-dependent current generation and spectral response of solar cells.
- Solar simulator (MIB-SOLAR Center)- For current density–voltage (J-V) characterisation under standardised solar illumination.