Hydrogen monitors for university project
27 Oct 2008
Unique hydrogen monitor for university project
Bangor, UK - Bangor University in Wales is employing advanced hydrogen monitoring technology for an in-depth research and development project in advanced photovoltaics using metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD).
This project, in collaboration with the nationwide Supergen initiative ‘Photovoltaic for the 21st Century’ (PV21), will enable research and development of the next generation of low-cost thin film photovoltaic modules for renewable energy. The scheme is being funded by the Welsh Assembly Government through the Technology Transfer Centre of the Knowledge Exploitation Funds.
For the project, the university team needed an in-situ hydrogen detector to ensure the safe use of hydrogen gas in its MOCVD chamber. The researchers approached Quantitech Ltd, which distributes hydrogen monitors from H2scan Corp. of California. The monitors are designed for the specific measurement of hydrogen in mixtures, without interference from other gases.
The team selected a H2scan HY OPTIMA 700 analyser, which will principally be used before and after deposition for safety reasons and to determine whether the chamber can be safely opened by the operator. This process should only take place with a low percentage of residual hydrogen, once the chamber has been flushed with nitrogen.
Dr Vincent Barrioz from the University’s School of Chemistry explained: “We are using the H2scan technology primarily for safety monitoring of hydrogen levels in the deposition chamber and on the product testing side we will see if it can be used during the deposition process.
“It is all part of a larger research and development project looking at the deposition chamber and the process of photovoltaic production. We are confident that the HY OPTIMA 700 will provide us with the accurate readings we require. We chose the H2scan instrument for reasons of cost and instrument sensitivity.”
H2scan’s hydrogen specific solid-state sensing technology is able to detect hydrogen from 15 ppm to 100% over a wide range of temperatures against virtually any background gases without false readings or expensive support equipment.
