Stefaan De Wolf

Associate Professor of Material Science and Engineering

Research Interests

​Stefaan De Wolf's expertise lies in the science and technology of photovoltaics for terrestrial applications. His research focuses on the fabrication of high-efficiency silicon-based solar cells, with specific attention to the fundamental understanding of interface structures and electrical contact formation, relevant to solar cells and electronic devices.

He is also interested in new device architectures and applications, such as back-contacted solar cells and silicon-based multi-junction solar cells, aimed at the improved utilization of the full solar spectrum for electricity generation. A prime example of these devices are perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells.

Selected Publications

  • High-performance perovskite single-junction and textured perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells via slot-die-coating. Subbiah, A.S., Isikgor, F.H., Howells, C.T., De Bastiani, M., Liu, J., Aydin, E., ...De Wolf, S. ACS Energy Letters, 5(9), 3034-3040, (2020).
  • Interplay between temperature and bandgap energies on the outdoor performance of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. Aydin, E., Allen, T.G., De Bastiani, M., Xu, L., Ávila, J., Salvador, M., Van Kerschaver, E., De Wolf, S. Nature Energy, 5(11), 851-859, (2020).
  • Enhanced optical path and electron diffusion length enable high-efficiency perovskite tandems.Chen, B., Baek, S.-W., Hou, Y., Aydin, E., De Bastiani, M., Scheffel, B., ...Sargent, E.H. Nature Communications, 11(1), (2020).
  • Temperature Dependence of the Urbach Energy in Lead Iodide Perovskites. Ledinsky, M., Schönfeldová, T., Holovský, J., Aydin, E., Hájková, Z., Landová, L., ...De Wolf, S. Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 10(6), 1368-1373, (2019).
  • Dual-Function Electron-Conductive, Hole-Blocking Titanium Nitride Contacts for Efficient Silicon Solar Cells. Yang, X., Liu, W., De Bastiani, M., Allen, T., Kang, J., Xu, H., ...De Wolf, S. Joule, 3(5), 1314-1327, (2019).
  • Multi-cation Synergy Suppresses Phase Segregation in Mixed-Halide Perovskites. Dang, H.X., Wang, K., Ghasemi, M., Tang, M.-C., De Bastiani, M., Aydin, E., ...De Wolf, S., Amassian, A. Joule, 3(7), 1746-1764, (2019).
  • A Universal Double-Side Passivation for High Open-Circuit Voltage in Perovskite Solar Cells: Role of Carbonyl Groups in Poly(methyl methacrylate). Peng, J., Khan, J.I., Liu, W., Ugur, E., Duong, T., Wu, Y., ...De Wolf, S., White, T.P. Advanced Energy Materials, 8(30), (2018).

Education

  • ​PhD, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, 2005
  • MSc, Ghent University, Belgium, 1997

Professional Profile

  • 2016-Present: Associate Professor KAUST, Saudi Arabia
  • 2008-2016: Team leader, silicon heterostructure solar cells, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
  • 2005-2008: Visiting research scientist, Research Center for Photovoltaics (RCPV), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan
  • 1998-2005: Scientific collaborator in the Silicon Solar Cells group, Interuniversity Micro-Electronics Centre (IMEC), Belgium

KAUST Affiliations

  • KAUST Solar Center (KSC)
  • Division of Physical Science and Engineering (PSE)​
  •  Material Science and Engineering Program