Search results
Sarah Kurtz. After more than 30 years at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, I am excited to have the opportunity to support the energy revolution in California through cutting-edge research and education. I hope that you’ll take a few minutes to explore these pages and contact me if you would like to be involved.
Sarah Kurtz is a research fellow with the National Center for Photovoltaics and a professor at the University of California Merced. As a research fellow, she contributes to select NREL projects. Kurtz is a world-renowned expert in the fields of multijunction photovoltaics (PV), concentrator PV, and PV reliability.
- Areas of Expertise
- Education
- Associations and Accreditations/Memberships
- Professional Experience
- Featured Publications
- Awards and Honors
Cofounded PVQAT (International PV Quality Assurance Task Force) with the goal of creating international standards that will be the foundation of the next stage of growth for the PV industry.Participated in the demonstration of the GaInP/GaAs solar cell invented by Jerry Olson, and published extensively on materials, devices, and implementation issues associated with this technology.Implemented the first record-setting 3-junction (GaInP/GaAs/GaInAs) inverted metamorphic cell, invented by Mark Wanlass. This device structure, with the potential of reaching 45% efficiency, is con...Studied dilute nitride cells, helping to establish that MOVPE is unlikely to be a successful growth technique for GaInAsN solar cells, paving the pathway for more success using MBE.B.A. Chemistry and Physics, 1979, Manchester College Ph.D. Chemical Physics, 1985, Harvard University
Member, IEEE and IEEE standards associationMember, American Solar Energy SocietyMember, ANSI (participation in IEC standards writing)Member, American Chemical SocietySince Dr. Kurtz joined NREL1985 as a post-doc, her contributions to PV research at NREL have been more than significant. Throughout her tenure, Dr. Kurtz has played a critical role in developing and maintaining the lab's reputation in photovoltaic research and development, helping to illuminate how to grow high-quality cells, how to measure multi-j...
PV Module Reliability and Performance
1. Kurtz, S.; Wohlgemuth, J.; Sample, T.; Yamamichi, M.; Kondo, M.; Kelly, G. "Three-Prong Path to Comprehensive Technical Standards for Photovoltaic Reliability" Presented at 40th IEEE PVSC. Denver, CO, June 2014. 2. Kurtz, S. R.; Muller, M.; Jordan, D.; Ghosal, K.; Fisher, B.; Verlinden, P.; Hashimoto, J.; Riley, D. (2014). "Key Parameters in Determining Energy Generated by CPV Modules," Progress in PV. DOI:10.1002/pip.2544. 3. Kurtz, S. R.; Krishnani, P.; Freeman, J.; Flottemesch, R.; Rile...
III-V Photovoltaic Devices and Their Application
1. Steiner, M.A.; Geisz, J.F.; Garcia, I.; Friedman, D.J.; Duda, A.; Kurtz, S.R. (2013). "Optical enhancement of Voc in high quality GaAs solar cells." J. Appl. Phys(113); pp. 123109-1 - 123109-11, 2013. 2. Geisz, J.F.; Steiner, M.A.; Garca, I.; Kurtz, S.R.; Friedman, D.J. (2013). "Enhanced external radiative efficiency for 20.8% efficient single-junction GaInP solar cells." Appl. Phys. Lett. (103); p. 041118. 3. Miller, O.D.; Yablonovitch, E.; Kurtz, S.R. (2012). Strong Internal and External...
Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells
1. Kurtz, S. R.; Gordon, R.G. (1987). "Transparent conducting electrodes on silicon." Solar Energy Materials(15); p. 229. 2. Kurtz, S.R.; Gordon, R. "Chemical vapor deposition of doped TiO2 thin films." Thin Solid Films(147); p. 167. 3. Kurtz, S.R.; Tsuo, Y.S.; Tsu, R. (1986). "Correlation of stress with light-induced defects in hydrogenated amorphous silicon films." Appl. Phys. Lett(49); p. 951. 4. Kurtz, S.R.; Gordon, R. (1986). "Chemical vapor deposition of titanium nitride at low temperat...
External
1. Cherry Award, 2012 2. Dan David Prize (shared with Jerry Olson and James Hanson), Future category "Energy," 2007 3. National Science Foundation, graduate fellowship (1979-1985) Team 1. Space Technology Hall of Fame, 2004 2. The Scientific America 50 Award to NREL and Spectrolab for "Demonstrated photovoltaic cells with record-breaking high efficiencies." (see December, 2002 issue of Scientific American) 3. National Energy Resources Organization Award (2002) 4. Energy100 Award for the "Gall...
Internal
1. NREL outstanding Achievement Award for support of concentrator industry, 1998 Team 1. NREL outstanding Achievement Award (for GaInP/GaAs cell), 1989
Photovoltaic degradation rates—an analytical review. DC Jordan, SR Kurtz. Progress in photovoltaics: Research and Applications 21 (1), 12-29. , 2013. 1878. 2013. Strong internal and external luminescence as solar cells approach the Shockley–Queisser limit. OD Miller, E Yablonovitch, SR Kurtz. IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics 2 (3), 303-311.
A paper was presented at the 46th PVSC in June 2019: Evaluating the Accuracy of Various Irradiance Models in Detecting Soiling of Irradiance Sensors Zoe DeFreitas, Anthony Ramirez, Brian Huang, Sarah Kurtz, Matthew Muller, and Michael Deceglie. The beautiful thing about renewable energy is that the more we use, the cheaper it gets, providing a ...
After more than 30 years at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Dr. Kurtz is excited to have the opportunity to support the energy revolution in California through cutting-edge research and education. She moved to the University of California Merced in late 2017 and is very pleased to leverage her decades of experience with solar energy ...
Sarah R. Kurtz is an American materials scientist known for her research on solar energy and photovoltaics, including the application of multi-junction solar cells in robotic spacecraft. Formerly a research fellow at the National Center for Photovoltaics and principal scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, [1] [2] she is a ...
