Abstract:
The uptake in expected future markets of the current commercialised thin film technologies such as CdTe or Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) is expected to be compromised by their toxicity (CdTe) or the scarcity of the constituting elements (In, Ga).  Intensive research efforts are currently put into earth-abundant alternatives with low/no toxicity and high stability. Kesterite (Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4) based chalcogenide is such a promising candidate to provide sustainable clean energies. A decent progress has been achieved and the record efficiencies of 11% for pure sulfide CZTS (Cu2ZnSnS4) and 12.6% for Se-containing CZTSSe (Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4) solar cells have been reported by UNSW and IBM, respectively. Here, in-depth discussion is offered of the major progress at UNSW that attempts to increase the energy conversion efficiency of CZTS solar cells. Challenges for further improvement of CZTS photovoltaic device performance will also be discussed.
In addition, all low temperature processed planar perovskite solar cells will also be reported.

Short Bio:
Dr Xiaojing (Jeana) Hao is a UNSW Scientia Fellow, ARC DECRA and Senior Lecturer of School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering at UNSW. Following her PhD in “EIPRS” obtained from SPREE, UNSW in 2010, she started to build up her research team from scratch. Xiaojing now leads a group with >15 PhDs and Postdocs. Her team has achieved 4 world records in abundant, environmentally- friendly CZTS (Cu2ZnSnS4) solar cells, establishing UNSW as the premier institute internationally for CZTS research. Her research interests include low-cost high-efficiency thin film solar cells (chalcogenide solar cells, perovskite solar cells) and tandem solar cells, chalcogenide materials for solar fuel production. Xiaojing has a number of prestigious awards, such as ARENA research fellow, ATSE-ECSF, UNSW “20 rising stars who will change our world”. She has been awarded a number of ARENA and ARC grants since 2010 and published 80+ journal papers.