Elizabeth Palmiotti is a postdoctoral researcher investigating vapor deposited inorganic perovskite solar cells. She is working with a team to optimize and understand these perovskite films and devices through materials and device characterization techniques. Elizabeth also works with the DuraMAT team on silicon module reliability, more specifically studying backsheet degradation and module technology trends and their associated reliability risks.

Elizabeth received her bachelor's degree in metallurgical and materials engineering from Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado, in 2017. During this time she interned at NREL studying fast catalytic pyrolysis and Cu(In,Ga)Se2 mini module reliability. She received her master's degree and doctorate in materials science from Colorado School of Mines, where she developed and studied novel metal halide recrystallization treatments for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 films. During her IIE-GIRE Fellowship at the Université de Nantes –IMN in Nantes, France, she applied these treatments to wide bandgap CuGaSe­2 films and devices. Elizabeth was then a DuraMAT postdoctoral appointee at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she worked on and developed destructive and nondestructive characterization techniques to study module packaging material degradation.

For additional information, see Elizabeth Palmiotti’s LinkedIn profile.

Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed on LinkedIn are the author’s own, made in the author's individual capacity, and do not necessarily reflect the views of NREL.

Research Interests

Materials characterization

Thin-film photovoltaics

Silicon module reliability

Education

Ph.D., Materials Science, Colorado School of Mines

M.S., Materials Science, Colorado School of Mines

B.S., Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Colorado School of Mines

Professional Experience

DuraMAT Postdoctoral Appointee, Sandia National Laboratories (2021–2023)

Graduate Researcher and Teaching Assistant, Colorado School of Mines (2017–2021)

Research Participant Program Intern (biomass and photovoltaics), NREL (2014–2017)

Featured Work

Homogeneous CuGaSe₂ growth by the CuPRO Process With In-Situ AgBr Treatment, Thin Solid Films (2022)

A Thermodynamic Evaluation of Metal Halides for the Recrystallization of Cu(In,Ga)Se₂, Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications  (2022)

In-Situ Study of the Crystallization of Amorphous CuInSe₂ Thin Films and the Effect of InCl₃ Treatment, Thin Solid Films (2022)

Identification and Analysis of Partial Shading Breakdown Sites in CuIn_xGa_(1-x)Se₂ modules, Solar Energy (2018)

Getting Ahead of the Curve: Assessment of New Photovoltaic Module Reliability Risks Associated with Projected Technological Changes, SSRN (2022)

Recrystallization of Cu(In,Ga)Se_₂ Thin Films by Metal Halide Vapor Treatments, Colorado School of Mines (2021)

Awards and Honors

IIE-GIRE Fellow – Nantes, France (2021)