Simona Binetti

Biography

Simona Binetti is associate professor of Physical Chemistry at University of Milano-Bicocca.She is vicedirector of the Milano –Bicocca Solar energy research center MIBSOLAR (www.mibsolar.mater.unimib.it), representing UNIMIB in Joint Program on Photovoltaics of European Energy Research Alliance. Qualified Full Professor in Physical Chemistry. She is responsible of promotion activity of the Science School of University of Milano-Bicocca .She has published 4 book chapters and more than 110 papers in peer and editor-reviewed international scientific journals She did more than 30 oral presentation mainly to PV international conferences and 10 invited talk in the last 5 years.

Research Interest

Her research activity has been mainly devoted to the experimental study of the effect of defects (point and extended ones) on electrical and optical properties of elementary semiconductor (Silicon) and composed (Silicon Carbide, Silicon Germanium and alloy and Copper Indium Gallium Diselenied “CIGS” alloy and CZTS alloy). In this context she developed original research activities about the role of defects on the opto-electrical properties of silicon (multicrystalline and nanocrystalline thin film) for photovoltaic application, of optical emission associated to dislocations and oxygen precipitates in silicon, on the epitaxial growth of Er-doped silicon for photonic application. Within this frame, the experimental tools systematically used include UV-IR Photoluminescence systems down to 12 K, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, Hall effect system down to 12 K, the Light Beam Induced Current Technique. She knows all the main characterization methods to analyze the PV device performances, including spectral response/external quantum efficiency measurements and current/voltage characteristics under illumination by solar simulator. Recently in the 2008 a new activity devoted to the growth and characterization of Copper Indium Gallium Diselenied “CIGS” films and CZTS for PV application on steel and glass substrate has been started. The aim of this research is the development of low-cost PV thin films solar cells. In this frame good knowledge has also been developed in thin film deposition methods (e.g. sputtering, evaporation, chemical bath deposition) and in related characterization techniques. Eventually, Simona Binetti is familiar with the most common techniques for the chemical and structural characterization of the materials (e.g: X-ray diffraction, GDMS spectroscopy ,SIMS spectroscopy). Her research group currently includes one assistant professor in Physics, 3 post-doctoral fellow, and 2 PhD students some undergraduated students; the main current scientific interests of the group are materials and devices for inorganic photovoltaics, opto-electronics, and (nano)photonics.