Thien Truong

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I am Dr. Thien Truong, a Materials Science Researcher specializing in solar photovoltaics (PV). I am currently based in Denver, Colorado, US, and work at the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the High-Efficiency Crystalline PV Group. My work in the Materials, Chemical, and Computational Science (MCCS) Directorate is centered on advancing high-efficiency Si solar cells and exploring advanced metallization techniques across various solar cell technologies.

My core research focuses on the application of advanced characterization techniques and the development of silicon solar cells. I possess specialized expertise in novel passivating contact technology for silicon photovoltaics and am actively involved in emerging research fields, including perovskites, tandems, III-V materials, 2D materials, and (photo)electrocatalysis.

I earned my PhD in Engineering from the Australian National University (ANU), Australia, in 2022. Earlier, I obtained an MSc in Intelligent Micro/Nano Systems from Konkuk University, South Korea (2018), and a Degree of Engineer in Mechanical Engineering from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, Vietnam (2015). Before joining NREL in January 2024, I held a Postdoctoral Researcher position at the ANU Solar PV Lab from 2021 to 2023. During this time, I made significant contributions to projects funded by organizations such as the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), Jinko Solar, and the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM).

(Note on Name: My full name in Vietnamese is 'Trương Ngọc Thiện'. My publications are listed under various names, including Thien Truong, Thien N. Truong, T. Truong, T.N. Truong, and Thien Ngoc Truong.)

News and Media releases:

08/2025 I am happy to share that I have been appointed as Youth Editor of the Journal Nano-Micro Letters!

A brief information about this journal:

Nano-Micro Letters is an open-access journal focused on all aspects of nano- or microscale structure and systems from science to technologies.

-Publishing on nano- or microscale science, technology, engineering and applications

-Open Access to maximize the impact of your work.

-High visibility with over 300k visits/month drives your work towards global impact

-Fast Publication with around 65 days from submission to publication.

Journal metrics:

Journal Impact Factor: 36.3 (2024)

5-year Journal Impact Factor: 30.1 (2024)

Downloads: 3.7M (2024)

07/2025 Check out our recent research on cost-effective metallization of silicon heterojunction solar cells using metal complex inks from Electroninks Incorporated. This work is published in the open-access journal Energy and Environmental Materials.
Read the full article here: https://doi.org/10.1002/eem2.70076

06/2025 In the summer of 2025, I served as a mentor in the DOE Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) Program at NREL. Ms. Rivka Stasavage, from the Rochester Institute of Technology, collaborated with me to investigate microwave heating for silicon photovoltaics (Si PV). This 10 weeks project is part of the SIPS program, funded by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Solar Energy Technologies Office.

06/2025 I attended the 53rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC) in Montreal, Canada. I chaired several oral and poster sessions and presented one oral presentation and one poster on the metallization of Si and III-V solar cells using reactive metal inks from Electroninks, Inc. It was a pleasure to connect with colleagues from Australia and around the world. I look forward to attending the 2026 IEEE PVSC in New Orleans, Louisiana.

04/2025 I received the NREL Postdoctoral Researcher Proposal Award for my contributions to a successful proposal in the FY24 SIPS Program.

02/2025 New paper published open access in journal Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research on microwave heating to activate hydrogen in polyscrystalline silicon passivating contacts.

DOI: 10.1002/aesr.202500004

10/2024 I am excited to share that National Renewable Energy Laboratory has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office to receive a $250,000 award for our work in "Electromagnetic Heating for Low-cost Photovoltaic Materials Activation"!

Project Name: Electromagnetic Heating for Low-cost Photovoltaic Materials Activation

Location: Golden, CO

DOE Award Amount: $250,000

Principal Investigator: Thien Truong

Project Summary: This project will explore alternatives to traditional firing processes in silicon solar cell manufacturing, which is needed for making gridlines on the cells and for doing common treatments to improve cell performance. An alternative approach offers the advantages of being quick and cost-effective, while providing precise selective heating on specific materials without damaging the adjacent layer. Additionally, this project will include an economic performance analysis for manufacturers to evaluate the cost implications of replacing the firing processes with this innovative technique.

12/2023 I have accepted an offer with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado, USA, to work as a postdoctoral researcher on metallization for Si solar cells with Dr David Young's group. I will commence the position in January 2024. It has been a great experience in Australia and at ANU for nearly 6 years for both me and my family. Looking forward to new challenges!

11/2023 I had a very fruitful trip to China, visiting Jinko Solar in Haining, attending the 34th PVSEC in Shenzhen, participating in the 2023 Workshop on Advanced Materials and Solar Cell Technology at Shenzhen Technology University (SZTU), and finally, attending the International ACAP Committee meeting as an observer. This marks the last time I represent ANU as a research fellow.

Visit to Jinko Solar. From left: Dr Menglei Xu, Dr Pheng Phang, myself, Ms Jiali Wang, and Dr Xinyu Zhang.

Lunch with ACAP Committee. (from left) Dr Richard Corkish ACAP, myself ANU, Dr Pierre Verlinden YIST, Dr Feng Trina Solar, Prof Martin Green UNSW, Prof Dawei Di Zhejiang University, Dr Li Wang UNSW.

Myself at the PVSEC conference. Top photo: discussion with Dr Radovan Kopecek from ISC Konstanz.

SZTU Workshop with Dr Pierre Verlinden (YIST) and Dr Jack Feng (Vice President of Trina Solar)

07/2023 The Next-Generation Silicon (Si) and Tandem Hetero-Contact (NGSTH) Laboratory at ANU, established as part of the ARENA-funded ACAP Infrastructure, was officially completed and commissioned. Notably, the cluster of tools combines the capabilities of ALD, PECVD, evaporation, and sputtering tools in a virtual cluster connected via inert-atmosphere control. This creates a sandbox environment that allows the stacking of different materials prepared by various methods. Such integration enables the formation of thin-film stacks without exposure to atmospheric conditions, facilitating the creation of more complex films and efficient photovoltaic devices.
I was responsible for the Angstrom Engineering Inc. Nexdep Sputtering and Evaporation Cluster, overseeing commissioning, initial training, preparing risk assessments, safe work procedures, and all other logistics.
Pictured from left: Dr Lachlan Black, Mr James Cotsell, Dr Thien Truong, Mr Stephane Armand, Mr Michael Jambor, and Dr Kean Chern Fong.

Link on ACAP's annoucement:

https://www.acap.org.au/post/acap-anu-unveils-new-next-generation-silicon-and-tandem-hetero-contact-laboratory

05/2023 I applied and was successfully granted USD 600 from IEEE Region 10 Educational Activities Project Development Grant for a project titled: "Promoting solar energy education in ACT during ACT Children’s Week 2023".

Link:

https://ea.ieeer10.org/theme-based-track/

03/2023 My work on sputtered Si passivating contacts for high efficiency solar cells was published in journal Solar Energy.

Link:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038092X23002086

01/2023 I joined Prof Daniel Macdonald's team to work on our recently granted project with ARENA on developing "Next Generation Silicon Solar Cells Above 26% Efficiency in Mass Production". I will lead the research activities on localising poly-Si films on the front side of the cells and diluting poly-Si for reducing front absorption.

Media releases:

https://arena.gov.au/news/funding-for-ultra-low-cost-solar-research/

https://arena.gov.au/projects/next-generation-silicon-solar-cells-above-26-efficiency-in-mass-production/

11/2022 I am now an Associate Fellow of the HEA (AFHEA, AdvanceHE) after completing my application through the ANU Educational Fellowship Scheme. This attainment reflects my commitment to teaching and learning as an academic in accordance with the UK Professional Standards Framework (UK PSF) in higher education.

10/2022 I finished working on the two ARENA projects led by Prof Daniel Macdonald and moved to another project led by Dr Kean Fong in the same group working on tandem perovskite/ Si solar cells and IBC cells with poly-Si passivating contacts.

8/2022 I was promoted to Research Fellow (Level B) by the Dean of College of Engineering and Computer Science, ANU, effective from 1/1/2023.

7/2022 I was officially awarded the PhD in Engineering degree from ANU.

https://cecs.anu.edu.au/news/graduates-celebrate-reflect-conferring-awards-ceremony

6/2022 I presented my work on GaB doping at the 2022 IEEE PVSC Conference in Philadelphia, US. I was featured in the final keynotes presentation by the conference chair.

12/2021: My new publication: Investigation of gallium‐boron spin‐on co‐doping for poly‐Si/SiOx passivating contacts was chosen for an inside back cover design and be published in the journal Solar RRL

Main paper DOI: 10.1002/solr.202100653

Cover DOI: 10.1002/solr.202170125

07/2021: I submitted my PhD thesis and started a new postdoctoral fellow position (level A) at ANU in the same group. I will be working on two ARENA projects:

1 - Advanced Silicon solar cells by DESIJN: a novel technology based on deposited silicon junctions, led by Prof Daniel Macdonald.

2 - Physical vapour deposited passivating contacts for high efficiency silicon solar cells, led by Dr Josua Stuckelberger.

04/2021: I received the competitive DAAD Short-Term Research Grant for a collaboration project with Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE.

02/2021: My manuscript to Progress in Photovoltaics was accepted. This manuscript was chosen as the best abstract (out of over 1000) in the 2020 EUPVSEC conference. I was also selected as finalists for the student award at this conference.

DOI: 10.1002/pip.3411

08/2020: Me and the teaching team of the course ENGN4524/ENGN6524: Photovoltaic Technologies (Semester 1, 2020) received Dean's tutor awards for excellence in remote teaching.

03/2020: My publication on the hydrogenation mechanism in poly-Si passivating contacts was selected as the frontispiece of Wiley's Solar RRL.

12/2019: My team's contribution to solar research has been featured by Australia Microscopy.

05/2019: A (much) better solar cell - ANU Reporter.

02/2019: My works with Dr Hieu Nguyen featured in many news, "ANU at the forefront of ground-breaking solar research" - ANU, PV Magazine, AZoCleantech, PACE (Process & Control Engineering), myScience, Sustainability Matters, Ferret, Vietnamplus, Vietnamnet, tuoitrenews, etc.

10/2018: Lab of the Month, Linkam Scientific, UK - link

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© Thien Truong 2025