Award recipient 2006

In his degree dissertation, Axel Hegruth dealt with the investigation of degradation mechanisms in monocrystalline silicon solar cells, especially in developing a process to avoid such degradations. Solar cells made from monocrystalline silicon have an advantage compared to the polycrystalline ones in that one can reach higher levels of efficiency with the former. However, the corresponding efficiency potential cannot be fully realized in the industrial production because the efficiency of freshly made solar cells exposed to light is reduced by about 10% (relatively) within less than two hours. After that, the solar cells are perfectly stable. As a part of his degree project, Axel Hergruth succeeded in developing a process that permanently eliminated this degradation mechanism. He called this process regeneration.  The core of this process is to convert the damaging boron-oxygen-complex into an inactive state that does not lead to any loss of excited electrical charge carriers, even during the operation of the solar cells. For his meticulous and creative dissertation, which can lead to an amazingly simple solution to a significant degradation mechanism in monocrystalline solar cells, Axel Herguth was honored with the SolarWorld Junior Einstein Award 2006.

To reduce the costs of solar power further, one needs however, both: low-cost starting material and high efficiency. Oliver Schultz has therefore- in particular as a part of his degree project and later – at the Fraunhofer-Institute for Solar Energy Systems, thoroughly dealt with the characteristics of polycrystalline silicon for the manufacture of highly efficient solar cells. Based on a deep understanding of the physical material, he was able to develop process steps for the manufacture of solar cells that led finally to an energy conversion efficiency of 20.3%. An efficiency of more than 20% in polycrystalline silicon material was considered to be unattainable by many experts before.

For his outstanding and at the same time detailed as well as purposeful work, Oliver Schultz was honored with the SolarWorld Junior Einstein Award 2006.