Research areas

We synthesise energy materials and thin-films from vacuum and solution-based processes. For vacuum-based processes this includes direct synthesis from reactive sputtering, and for solution-based processes, we use ink formulations as well as various scalable coating methods such as slot-die coating. We also pursue thin-film growth from organic molecular beam deposition. Our focus is on controlling thin-film composition, microstructure and morphology for their application as, e.g., electrodes, interlayers or active layers in devices for energy conversion and storage applications.

We use advanced characterisation via synchrotron-based studies, in addition to a variety of  lab-based techniques, to study composition, microstructure, interfaces, morphology, electrical and optical properties of the energy materials and thin-films. This includes x-ray scattering for microstructure analysis as well as in-situ photoemission to study energy level alignment between materials and thin-films utilised in energy devices.

We perform energy device development and testing in various device architectures using a glovebox-connected robotic cluster deposition tool, or from scalable R2R coating techniques. Furthermore, we study full device stacks with controlled interface between each layer, including patterning and masking to control device area and geometry. We focus on Lab2fab development, transferring devices made in controlled environments on small scale to industrial-compatible large-scale development. Finally, we conduct electrical performance and lifetime testing using standard and advanced (accelerated) protocols.

Within the upscaling of thin-films and devices for energy conversion and storage we use sheet-to-sheet (S2S) and roll-to-roll (R2R) processing techniques spanning from medium scale batch coatings to full R2R scale. We combine R2R vacuum and solution-based slot-die coating to align with lab-scale device development. We focus on thin-film photovoltaic devices developed from such processes and work on other technologies for energy conversion and storage, such as electrolysis, supercapacitors and batteries. Here, we run a combination between research and innovation-based projects and consultancy activities together with various industrial partners.