The ANU Perovskite solar cell research group is jointly led by Prof. Kylie Catchpole, Prof. Tom White and Prof. Klaus Weber. Our focus is to advance the technology in order to facilitate and accelerate its commercialisation, thus helping to further drive down the cost of solar electricity generation.

Our work spans a number of interrelated areas. We have a strong focus on understanding the basic material and device properties, in order to identify factors limiting device performance and stability. Such an understanding guides the rational design of improved devices. This work is underpinned by the development of sophisticated device models and measurement techniques. We develop improved, low cost transport layers and electrodes, which are required for efficient current extraction from the device. Another important research topic is the investigation of degradation mechanisms in perovskite films and cells, under conditions that mimic actual cell operating conditions in the field, by probing the relationship between material properties, device architecture and device stability. Finally, we develop high efficiency tandem cells to exploit the full potential of the technology and demonstrate solar cell efficiencies significantly greater than is possible with conventional solar photovoltaic technologies. In this area, we have reported on record efficiency devices developed in our labs.

We have strong links with many of the world’s leading research institutions in the field, as well as with solar cell manufacturers including Jinko Solar, Risen Energy, GCL and Greatcell.

Our People

Group Leaders

Professor Kylie Catchpole

Professor Kylie Catchpole is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow at the Research School of Engineering at the Australian National University. Her research interests are in perovskite solar cells, solar water splitting, and nanotechnology for solar cell applications. She has authored over 100 publications, and her work on plasmonic solar cells has been featured in the news sections of Science magazine and The Economist. Her work on nanophotonic light trapping was listed as one of MIT Technology Review's '10 most important emerging technologies'. In 2015 she was awarded the John Booker medal for Engineering Science from the Academy of Science.

Professor Klaus Weber

Dr Klaus Weber is Professor in the Research School of Engineering at the ANU. His current research interests are focused on perovskite photovoltaics, specifically for application to high efficiency tandem cells. He co-invented and developed several thin film cell technologies including SLIVER technology, for which he was closely involved in the commercial development including the current ARENA project (formerly with Transform Solar). He has authored over over 140 publications. He is a recipient of the Weeks Award by the International Solar Energy Society and the Alan Walsh Medal for Service to Industry by the Australian Institute of Physics. His work on SLIVER technology received numerous other awards including the Banksia Award and the Aichi World Expo Global Eco-Tech 100 award.

A/Professor Thomas White

A/Prof White has a BSc(Hons) and PhD in physics from the University of Sydney, and has previously held research positions in the United States (Bell Laboratories) and the UK (University of St Andrews). He has published widely in areas of theoretical and experimental optics and photonics, nanostructure enhancement of light-matter interactions, and photovoltaics. His current research focus is on perovskite solar cells and tandems, with a particular interest in quantifying recombination and optical losses in these devices. Other research interests include perovskite light emitters and lasers, and their applications.