Edgard Winter da Costa is a postdoctoral researcher working at NREL on hydride vapour phase epitaxy (HVPE) of III-V and IV semiconductor materials for solar cells under Aaron Ptak and David Young’s group. His research focus is on the growth of high efficiency III-V solar cells on reused substrates as well as on the growth of germanium on spalled germanium substrates for substrate reuse purposes. During his doctorate at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), he worked with the metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE) of III-V semiconductor materials on unpolished (non-CMP) germanium substrates as wells as on porous germanium and silicon-germanium substrates with the objective of reducing costs and reuse the substrates. 
 
Edgard’s master’s degree at PUC-Rio was focused on the MOVPE growth of strain compensated multiple quantum wells of InxGa1-xAs/InyGa1-yP to be used as the middle junction of a triple junction solar cell in order to increase its efficiency. Besides being capable of producing MOVPE and HVPE samples, Edgard has also a vast experience on III-V semiconductor’s characterization methods, like in-situ reflectance and curvature, X-ray rocking curves and reciprocal space maps, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, electron channeling contrast imaging, spectral ellipsometry, cathodoluminescence, photoluminescence, electrochemical capacitance-voltage profile, and reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy. While earning his master`s, he also processed some samples with lithography and metallization techniques.

Research Interests

High efficiency III-V multijunction solar cells 

II-V metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy and hydride vapour phase epitaxy  

Reuse of substrates (spalled substrates and porous substrates) 

III-V surface and interface morphology microscopy  

Education

Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro

M.S., Electrical Engineering, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro

B.S., Physics, Federal Center for Technological Education Celso Suckow da Fonseca

Professional Experience

Teaching Assistant, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (2017–2019)

Featured Work

Development of Strain Compensated InGaAs/InGaP Multiple Quantum Wells in the 1.05–1.50 eV Energy Range for Multijunction Solar Cells, Micro and Nanostructures (2023)  
 
III-V Material Growth on Electrochemically Porosified Ge Substrates, Journal of Crystal Growth (2023)  
 
III-V Solar Cells, Journal of Integrated Circuits and Systems (2022)  
 
InxGa1-xAs/InyGa1-yP Multiple Quantum Wells for Multijunction Solar Cells, 33rd Symposium on Microelectronics Technology and Devices (2018)  
 
Simulation of InGaAs/InGaP Multiple Quantum Well Systems for Multijunction Solar Cell, 32nd Symposium on Microelectronics Technology and Devices (2017)