Increasingperformance and production volumes are the main drivers of continued costreduction in PV, and are indispensable for their broad deployment. Steadyprogress in crystalline silicon cell efficiencies pushed record values to 26%,however their performance is compromised upon module integration. From anotherperspective, no less important in densely populated areas, the scarcity ofvaluable land and the concern for aesthetics fuel an increasing demand forunobtrusive integration of PV as an additional functionality in existingelements, as e.g. in buildings (BIPV as opposed to BAPV), vehicles (VIPV), andinfrastructure (IIPV).
Addressingall related challenges including minimized so-called "Cell-to-Module" (CtM)losses, demanding requirements on reliability and cost, aesthetics andcustomizable layouts, imec has in the last years been developing in-house alow-temperature multi-wire interconnection technology where bothinterconnection and encapsulation is realized during the lamination step.
Inthis topic, the aim is to expand and optimize this technology, by investigatingthe influence of the different components of the laminate stack. This willinvolve different types of encapsulant (TPO, EVA, POE, etc.) with theirrespective properties (rheology, thickness, Tm, etc.), as well as the type ofcells (PERC, TOPCON, HJT,...) and the front- and back-cover (glass-glass,glass-backsheet, light-weight,...). Additionally, it involves determining aprocess window for the lamination process parameters (temperature, pressure,time, etc.) for such different combinations. This assessmentrequires determining the performance after fabrication, as well asmonitoring their degradation throughout reliability testing (thermal cycling,damp heat, humidity freeze,...) with visual and electrical inspection(IV-testing, EL).
Thiswork will be carried out in the new facilities in the Energyville campus inGenk with manufacturing equipment that goes beyond state-of-the-art in moduleproduction (in a lab environment) and is geared towards these technologies. Noless indispensable is the access to in-house knowledge, as well as theavailability of characterization equipment and expertise (similarlystate-of-the-art and beyond) to adequately assess individual and combinedprocess steps, ranging from material characterization and analysis to fullmodule performance measurements and reliability testing.
Apartfrom the technical capabilities, the location in the Thorpark in the old miningsite of Waterschei offers an attractive (though remote) surrounding, while thework will be merged into the activities of the waferPV team.
Fromthe above description, it should be clear that the topic is stronglyexperimentally-oriented, and requires a hands-on mentality with a lot of timespent in the lab. Considering the diversity of topics involved, the topic canbe tuned somewhat depending on the background and interest of the applicant.
Type of internship: Master internship, Bachelor internship, PhD internship
Duration: 6-9 months
Required educational background: Electrotechnics/Electrical Engineering, Energy, Materials Engineering
University promotor: Jef Poortmans (KU Leuven)
Supervising scientist(s): For further information or for application, please contact Jonathan Govaerts (< email supprimé pour raison de sécurité >)
The reference code for this position is 2026-INT-263. Mention this reference code in your application.
Imec allowance will be provided for students studying at a non-Belgian university.
Applications should include the following information:
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Addressingall related challenges including minimized so-called "Cell-to-Module" (CtM)losses, demanding requirements on reliability and cost, aesthetics andcustomizable layouts, imec has in the last years been developing in-house alow-temperature multi-wire interconnection technology where bothinterconnection and encapsulation is realized during the lamination step.
Inthis topic, the aim is to expand and optimize this technology, by investigatingthe influence of the different components of the laminate stack. This willinvolve different types of encapsulant (TPO, EVA, POE, etc.) with theirrespective properties (rheology, thickness, Tm, etc.), as well as the type ofcells (PERC, TOPCON, HJT,...) and the front- and back-cover (glass-glass,glass-backsheet, light-weight,...). Additionally, it involves determining aprocess window for the lamination process parameters (temperature, pressure,time, etc.) for such different combinations. This assessmentrequires determining the performance after fabrication, as well asmonitoring their degradation throughout reliability testing (thermal cycling,damp heat, humidity freeze,...) with visual and electrical inspection(IV-testing, EL).
Thiswork will be carried out in the new facilities in the Energyville campus inGenk with manufacturing equipment that goes beyond state-of-the-art in moduleproduction (in a lab environment) and is geared towards these technologies. Noless indispensable is the access to in-house knowledge, as well as theavailability of characterization equipment and expertise (similarlystate-of-the-art and beyond) to adequately assess individual and combinedprocess steps, ranging from material characterization and analysis to fullmodule performance measurements and reliability testing.
Apartfrom the technical capabilities, the location in the Thorpark in the old miningsite of Waterschei offers an attractive (though remote) surrounding, while thework will be merged into the activities of the waferPV team.
Fromthe above description, it should be clear that the topic is stronglyexperimentally-oriented, and requires a hands-on mentality with a lot of timespent in the lab. Considering the diversity of topics involved, the topic canbe tuned somewhat depending on the background and interest of the applicant.
Type of internship: Master internship, Bachelor internship, PhD internship
Duration: 6-9 months
Required educational background: Electrotechnics/Electrical Engineering, Energy, Materials Engineering
University promotor: Jef Poortmans (KU Leuven)
Supervising scientist(s): For further information or for application, please contact Jonathan Govaerts (< email supprimé pour raison de sécurité >)
The reference code for this position is 2026-INT-263. Mention this reference code in your application.
Imec allowance will be provided for students studying at a non-Belgian university.
Applications should include the following information:
- resume
- motivation
- current study
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
