Lachlan Black

Lachlan Black is a Senior Research Fellow at the School of Engineering, Australian National University (ANU). His research focuses on advancing solar photovoltaic technology, particularly through the application of novel nanolayer materials and atomic-scale processing to enhance semiconductor surface and interface properties. He holds a PhD from ANU (2015) and previously worked at Eindhoven University of Technology, Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), and Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (imec).

His expertise includes crystalline silicon photovoltaics, semiconductor recombination dynamics, surface passivation, and atomic layer deposition (ALD). Dr. Black has secured over $8M in competitive grants, leading projects such as 'High-throughput inspection methods for high-efficiency multijunction solar cells' (ARENA, $2.73M) and 'Advanced multifunctional dielectric layers enabling simplified production of high-efficiency silicon solar cells' (ARENA, $546k).

• Education:
  • PhD in Engineering (ANU, 2015)
  • Postdoctoral Researcher (Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands)

Dr. Black’s research emphasizes reducing solar energy costs via innovations in silicon and tandem solar cell performance. His work has been recognized with the Annual Solar Thesis Prize and multiple top-tier conference selections. He collaborates extensively with industry partners globally.

Awards:

• Annual Solar Thesis Prize (PhD work)
• Four-time selection in top 20 contributions at International Conference on Silicon Photovoltaics

Teaching & Grants:

• Guest lecturer for courses like ENGN4524 Photovoltaic Technologies
• Total grant funding: >$8M
• Key projects include UHV Kelvin probe development and monolithic Si/perovskite tandem cell research

Labs & Teams: Leads a Next-generation Si and tandem hetero-contact laboratory, leveraging advanced equipment like ambient-pressure photoemission spectroscopy systems.