Franz-Josef Haug

EPFL STI IMT PV-LAB
MC A2 302 (Bâtiment MC)
Rue de la Maladière 71b, CP 526
2002 Neuchâtel 2

I studied Physics between 1990 and 1996 at the Universities of Ulm (Germany) and Waikato (New Zealand). While specializing mostly on Theoretical Physics and Quantum Theory during my studies, I turned towards Experimental Physics for a graduate work on gas-phase epitaxy of silicon. After that, I pursued a PhD program at ETH Zürich (Switzerland), studying Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells. As PostDoc, I went to EMPA (Switzerland) to work on plasma processes for hard coatings of TiN and to the Jülich Research Centre (Germany) to study light scattering ZnO layers that are used as front contact for thin film solar cells. In 2005, I joined the  Institute of Microengineering (IMT) at the University of Neuchatel to lead a research group on flexible thin film silicon solar cells within the PV-Lab. In 2009, the institute was integrated into EPFL and merged with the existing IMT (now IEM).
My main research interests are optics, charge transport in semiconductors and renewable energy in general. My current work is devoted to passivating contacts for crystalline silicon solar cells, using thin silicon films as contact layers. In 2015, I was appointed to Maître d'Enseignement et de Recherche (Senior Lecturer and Scientist), and I became a Faculty Member in the  School of Engineering (STI).
I was member of the Assemblé d'Ecole (AE) between 2022 and 2024 and I am currently serving my third term on the EPFL Teacher Council (CCE). My main objectives are to represent the  intermediate level of EPFL's teaching staff, and to raise awareness for concerns of the satellite campus locations.

Teaching & PhD

PhD Students

Julien Hurni

Past EPFL PhD Students

Mario Lehmann, Ezgi Genç

Past EPFL PhD Students as codirector

Karin Söderström, Ali Naqavi, Rémi Biron, Michael Stuckelberger, Gizem Nogay, Josua Andreas Stückelberger, Sofia Libraro

Courses

Modern photovoltaic technologies

PHYS-609

A link between the fundamental physics, device operation and technological development of various solar cell technologies. Learning about all modern photovoltaic technlogies incl. industrially relevant wafer based silicon, thin film chalcogenide, III-V, multijunction, organic and hybrid solar cells.