What is it like to study at SPREE? Below are two lectures directly from our Photovoltaics Manufacturing class.
For academic details you can check the UNSW Handbook entry for
Undergraduate: Photovoltaic Technology and Manufacturing - SOLA3020
Postgraduate: Solar Cell Technology and Manufacturing - SOLA9006
About SOLA3020 & SOLA9006
Summary of the Course
This course will focus on the processes and technologies involved in the manufacturing of solar cells and will provide students with an introduction to important manufacturing concepts such as device design, yields, throughput, process optimisation, reliability, in-line quality control and fault diagnosis.
Sufficient device theory relating to the operating principles of solar cells is covered to give an appreciation for the strengths and weaknesses of the dominant commercial cell technologies. In addition, students will learn about:
(i) the production processes of the commercially-dominant screen-printed solar cells; trends in commercial cell technology and the corresponding manufacturing processes;
(ii) the impact of various processing and device parameters on performance, yields and product reliability; and
(iii) inline quality control techniques. Students will be given the opportunity to take control of a "virtual production line" to adjust the equipment controls and processing parameters to try and optimise performance and maximise virtual production yields. In-line quality control procedures are available to the student to aid in this optimisation and will prove to be particularly useful in identifying and rectifying weaknesses or problems associated with the production.
The aims of this course are:
(i) To expose students to the solar cell manufacturing environment and introduce them to important manufacturing concepts such as device design, yields, throughput, process optimisation, reliability, in-line quality control and fault diagnosis; and
(ii) To develop students’ ability to optimise a commercial solar cell production line.
