Applied Materials Science

Department

The Applied Materials Science (AMS) department conducts research on III-V compound semiconductors. The AMS research group is working with industrial partners for the application of high-efficiency solar cells that convert light into electricity (PV cells).

The department is part of Institute of Molecules and Materials (IMM).

Highlights

Below are the highlights of the Applied Materials Science department. View all News, Publications, Staff, and Vacancies.

Solar cells are not a waste of energy

13 July 2022 News item

Do solar panels provide more energy than is put into them? Solar cell researcher John Schermer from Radboud University: 'If solar cells were not so promising, then there would not be as much global research into them.’

Pleasantly sustainable: green façades with coloured solar panels

28 October 2021 News item

The start-up Soluxa has combined necessity with aesthetics, resulting in coloured solar panels that can be used on building façades. Soluxa completed their first pilot project which involved the installation of a solar façade on the Huygens Building.

Research

Over the past decade, the department of Applied Materials Science (AMS) concentrated on creating high-efficiency thin-film photovoltaic (PV) cells and Epitaxial Lift-Off (ELO) technology. AMS is a world leader in this area, having achieved numerous world record efficiencies for III-V solar cells. They also collaborate closely with industrial partners to apply their research into practical applications such as space technology and light concentrator systems. Moreover, AMS has supported the establishment of three start-up companies in cell analysis, production, and applications.

Publications

Inside the clean rooms

Facilities

The AMS department has several clean room facilities with two AIX200 MOVPE reactors for the growth of GaAs and InP based III-V semiconductor structures. There is a photo-lithography laboratory with all the necessary equipment, while another part of the clean room is especially dedicated to wet chemical etching studies related to the development of the ELO technology.

Cleanrooms and equipment

Solar Cell Research Facility

Internships

Would you like to do your internship at Applied Materials Science? Please get in touch for more information. A few examples of relevant subjects are:

Thin-Film III-V Solar Cells. Photon Recycling and Space Application Testing
Building-Integrated Concentrated Photovoltaics effects of inhomogeneous illumination
Ultra-Thin Gallium Arsenide Solar Cells: Light Trapping, Photon Recycling and the Franz-Keldysh Effect

Vacancies