Thesis - Electroluminescence as a tool to evaluate solar modules in production

REC ScanModule AB, located in Glava, Arvika is a rapidly expanding company producing multi-crystalline Silicon solar cell modules. In the last three years we have increased our production by ten times and we will further triple our capacity in the coming year and a half. REC ScanModule AB is part of the REC group whose business activities cover all parts of the value chain within the photovoltaic industry.

The Technology division of REC ScanModule AB is currently looking for two Master's students to jointly conduct their exam work on defect detection in solar cells. The project titled Electroluminescence as a tool to evaluating solar modules in production involves the following tasks:

– Understand how solar cells and modules are manufactured and how they work
– Understand the problems related to solar cells within solar module manufacturing
– Evaluate Electroluminescence as an inline diagnostic tool in our production
– A final report with recommendations on next steps. The report should be detailed enough to enable actual implementation of the method (if so recommended) into production within six months

The project is estimated to be 20 weeks long and also involves some travel including 4-6 weeks stay in Germany.

Suitable candidates should have a good theoretical and experimental background in Physics. Coursework and labwork within semiconductors, photovoltaics and spectroscopy will be seen favorably. Candidate's ability to learn quickly and work in a team will also be taken into consideration.

Interested candidates should send their application, describing the relevant coursework and experimental work undertaken during the course of their education, via email, to [email protected] before 2007-09-05. Telephone enquiries will not be entertained.