Chris Honsberg

New MBE Machine for Ultra-High Efficiency Solar Cells

The molecular beam epitaxity (MBE) machine pictured below forms the centerpiece of a new laboratory for ultra-high efficiency solar cells. The MBE machine was recently acquired from a Silicon Valley research company that moved to a production model. The system is one of the most sophisticated MBE machines around with capabilities for continuous processing of 4" wafers through seperate load and unload locks. The machine is currently being installed at the University of Delaware.

Recent work using a new generalised form of detailed balance has demonstrated that there are a variety of approaches for getting solar cell efficiencies to the theoretical limit of 86.8% The new equipment seeks to provide experimental evidence for the new approaches and demonstrating solar cells of 50% efficiency. Of immediate interest are multiple stack tandems and quantum well structures.

Rear View of the new MBE system showing the twelve sources

Front View of the new MBE system showing the load lock (far right), buffer zone (center) and unload lock (far left). The separate locks allow the sytem to achieve fast throughput.