1
Potential of Photovoltaic Systems
in Countries with High Solar Irradiation
George Makrides1, Bastian Zinsser 2,
George E. Georghiou 1, Markus Schubert 2 and Jürgen H. Werner 2
1
PV Technology, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Cyprus
75 Kallipoleos Avenue, P.O. Box 20537, Nicosia, 1678, Cyprus
2
Institut für Physikalische Elektronik (ipe)
Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 47, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Abstract-- Renewable energy sources derived principally
from the enormous power of the sun’s irradiation have been
gaining ground and are now the most popular and modern
forms of energy. Solar power in the form of direct solar
irradiation conversion has already been very popular in
countries such as Germany and Japan, which successfully used
solar energy for many years. The enormous potential of
photovoltaic (PV) systems is more obvious and favourable in
countries of high irradiation such as Cyprus. The objective of
this paper is to describe the potential of PV systems in countries
of high solar irradiation through the assessment of the energy
yield and performance of thirteen (13) different types of PV
systems which have been installed in Nicosia, Cyprus and
through comparison with an identical test site located in
Stuttgart, Germany.
Index Terms — Monocrystalline silicon, multicrystalline
silicon, concentrator, photovoltaic potential and thin film.
I. INTRODUCTION
T
HE PV technology sector is a fast growing industry
which has shown a worldwide increase with European
installed capacity reaching 4689 MWp in 2007 and proving
in this way its ability for future development [1]. Amongst
the European countries, Germany has been and continues to
be the European PV market leader with the most
installations. The enormous prospects and job opportunities
that have been created due to this technology in Germany
has led the way for new upcoming markets such as Spain
and Italy. In general the Mediterranean region is an area of
strategic importance for PV markets and can potentially play
an important part in the integration and uptake of this
technology especially due to the favourable conditions for
PV in the region.
Solar irradiation in Cyprus is one of the highest in Europe,
with more than 300 days of the year considered as having
sunny weather and with every square metre receiving an
annual irradiation of around 2000 kWh/m2 on a tilted surface
of 27.5 º, which is much higher than the sunniest areas of the
world’s largest market, Germany [2]. The high solar
resource of such countries clearly indicates that photovoltaic
technologies can have a major impact and potential as an
alternative energy source.
In order to gain ground over conventional electricity
prices, PV technologies need to overcome the key
commercial challenge of the initial high cost. The high cost
is directly affected by the system cost, performance and
operating life. Currently solar cells cost around € 2.3 per
watt for crystalline cells and € 1.3 per watt for thin film
which are less efficient but can be integrated into building
material [3]. Important cost reductions are achieved mainly
through the improvement of manufacturing techniques on
crystalline technologies and also on the emergence of new
technologies such as thin film and concentrator.
This paper provides a review of all the current and
upcoming PV technologies. Accordingly in order to fully
realize the potential of this technology, 13 different PV
technologies have been installed both in Cyprus and
Stuttgart. Performance measurements and comparisons
between the two test sites are also presented in this work.
Finally the high solar resource and the high energy yield
shown by all systems in Cyprus prove that PV is a suitable
candidate to be used as a renewable energy source for this
country.
II. PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGIES
Eventhough commercial PV modules are available and a
vast deployment is being undertaken, it is essential that more
research is carried out to improve this technology and target
well-known issues to increase its competitiveness. PV
technologies have demonstrated important achievements and
transformations over the past 50 years and are expected to
undergo important developments in the following decades.
The ambition for more PV installations is strengthened and
also there are widespread opportunities of a whole business
growth and a market with massive job and potential
opportunities. Market and research analysts estimate that in
the near future crystalline PV modules will continue to
dominate this market segment due to the fact that in most
installation cases there is a limited area which accordingly
necessitates modules with high efficiency. However once the
first thin film modules with efficiencies up to 10 % become
available which is expected by 2008 then many
monocrystalline modules with low efficiency will come
under pressure in maintaining their market share.
The expected development of PV technology over the
coming decades is shown below (see Table I) [4].
2
TABLE I
EXPECTED DEVELOPMENT OF PV TECHNOLOGY OVER THE COMING
DECADES.
Description
2020
2030
Typical turn-key system
price (2007 €/W excl VAT)
Typical electricity
generation costs southern
Europe (2007 €/kWh)
Typical commercial flat
plate module efficiencies
Typical commercial
concentrator module
efficiencies
2.5 / 2.0
1
Long term
potential
0.5
0.15 / 0.12
0.06
0.03
up to 20%
up to 25 %
up to 40 %
up to 30%
up to 40 %
up to 60 %
A. Crystalline Technologies
The most economic choice for grid connected
applications at the moment is crystal based silicon PV which
has been reported to reach efficiencies of 20 %. Such
efficiencies are the highest amongst all other market
technology
based
PV
modules.
Monocrystalline
technologies are highly efficient but are also expensive
because the manufacturing processes are slow, require
highly skilled operators and are labour and energy intensive.
Until recently the majority of solar cells were made from
pure monocrystalline silicon having no impurities or defects
in its lattice. This has been a time consuming and expensive
manufacturing methodology and since then a number of
approaches to reducing costs of crystalline PV cells and
modules or increasing their efficiency have been under
development during the past 20 years. These include cells
using polycrystalline material which consists of small grains
of monocrystalline silicon.
Furthermore special manufacturing techniques have been
adopted by PV companies such as the Sanyo heterojunction
with intrinsic thin film (HIT) and the Sunpower back contact
cells which lead the way for increased efficiencies due to
special techniques.
B. Thin Film Technologies
Initial products of thin film technologies were made from
very thin films of silicon in a form known as amorphous
silicon (a-Si). Amorphous silicon cells are cheaper to
produce than those made form crystalline silicon and are
also better light absorbers facilitating in this way thinner and
therefore cheaper films to be used.
Accordingly the manufacturing processes for thin film
modules production operates at a much lower temperature
than that of crystalline silicon and this conserves energy
which is continuously required. Another manufacturing
advantage is the fact that PV substrates can be easily
deposited on a wide variety of both rigid and flexible
substrates including steel, glass and plastics.
Amorphous silicon is by no means the only material
suited to thin film technologies. Among the many other
possible thin film technologies some of the most promising
are those based on compound semiconductors in particular
Copper Indium Diselenide (CuInSe2), Copper Indium
Gallium Diselenide (CIGS), and Cadmium Telluride (CdTe).
C. Concentrator Technologies
A new emerging PV technology which can provide
several economical advantages over the existing
technologies is to use high efficiency III - V cells along with
cheap concentrating optics in a concept which was known to
humanity for a long time. Concentrator technologies make
use of relatively inexpensive optics such as mirrors and
optics to focus light from the sun onto a smaller area of
semiconductor material. Latest concentrators use Fresnel
lenses arranged as a number of identical strings over
corresponding PV cells reaching concentration factors up to
500 times. Concentrators utilize the direct solar illumination
component and therefore require an accurate tracking system
to follow the sun’s trajectory.
Such technologies are primarily used so as to economize
on the solar cell material. This is achieved with the use of
inexpensive mirrors and plastic lenses to concentrate the
solar energy onto a smaller area PV cell. To sum up the most
important advantages of concentrator systems over fixed
plate technologies are the increase in power output and the
simultaneous decrease of cell size and number of cells used.
It is expected that very high efficiency concentrating
systems will increase their competitiveness when cell
efficiencies reach an overall module efficiency of 30 % by
the year 2020.
D. Building Integrated PV (BIPV) Technologies
A further significant milestone in new PV technologies is
achieved through BIPV technologies which comprise of
photovoltaic systems that are readily integrated with the
architectural building or with an object’s phase. The
integration of such systems usually requires the advice of
professional civil engineers, architects and PV system
designers during the design of the system and the building.
In this case a good evaluation of the place of integration is
required so as to maximize solar coverage and electricity
output. BIPV are usually installed on facades, building
window systems and as flexible rolls on roofs.
BIPV technologies achieve system cost reductions by
considering and integrating their costs into building
construction costs. Eventhough there are at the moment a
number of innovative ideas and designs for such
technologies, the field of BIPV has still room for
improvement.
E. Emerging and new PV Technologies
Implementations of other PV technologies are
conceptually the subject of numerous research activities
worldwide. The target always in this direction is the
limitation of costs and the increase of conversion efficiency.
New technologies include sensitized oxide cells, organic
solar cells, multijunction cells and other nanostructured
materials.
PV technologies in this category can be distinguished
mainly through the approaches taken to tailor the properties
of the active layer to better match the solar spectrum and
approaches that modify the incoming solar spectrum and
function at the periphery of the active device [4].
3
III. PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENTS IN CYPRUS
An important requirement for successful application and
integration of photovoltaic technologies in any location is to
have knowledge of its potential at the specific location of
installation.
To evaluate the PV potential in Cyprus, thirteen (13)
grid-connected PV systems of nominal power 1 kWp each
have been installed in Nicosia, Cyprus and Stuttgart,
Germany (see Fig. 1 and 2) providing the opportunity for
direct comparisons under the different climatic conditions of
the two countries. More specifically, the installed PV
technologies in Nicosia, Cyprus consist of twelve fixed plate
mounted systems, a two-axis tracking system and a flatcon
concentrator system. The systems are of installed power 1
kWp and include technologies of mono crystalline, multi
crystalline silicon to amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride
(CdTe), Cu(InGa)Se2, HIT-cell and other solar cell
technologies from a range of manufacturers such as BP
Solar, Atersa, Sanyo, Solon, SunPower etc. The PV modules
are mounted on mounting racks at optimal inclination to
provide maximum annual yield for each respective location.
Table II gives a detailed description of the installed
systems.
TABLE II
INSTALLED PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGIES
AT THE TWO TEST SITES.
Manufacturer
Module Type
Atersa
Atersa
BP Solar
A-170M 24V tracked
A-170M 24V
BP7185S
Sanyo
HIP-205NHE1
Suntechnics
STM 200 FW
Schott Solar
ASE-165-GT-FT/MC
170Wp
ASE-260-DG-FT
250Wp
SW165 poly
P220/6+
MA100T2
ASIOPAK-30-SG
FS60
WS 11007/75
Schott Solar
SolarWorld
Solon
Mitsubishi
Schott Solar
First Solar
Würth
Technology
monocrystalline Silicon
monocrystalline Silicon
monocrystalline Silicon
(saturn-cell)
monocrystalline Silicon
(HIT-cell)
monocrystalline Silicon
(back contact-cell)
multicrystalline Silicon
(MAIN-cell)
multicrystalline EFG
Silicon
multicrystalline Silicon
multicrystalline Silicon
amorphous Silicon
amorphous Silicon
Cadmium Telluride
Cupper-Indium-GalliumDiselenide (CIGS)
A. Measurement System Description
Both climatic data and PV system measurements are
acquired and stored from the test facilities through the
advanced measurement platform. The platform comprises of
installed metereological and electrical sensors which are
connected to a central database. The measurement system
includes a number of sensors and a central datalogging
system which stores data at a resolution of 1 second. The
monitored metereological data include the global irradiation
at the plane of array (POA), wind direction and speed as
well as ambient and module temperature. The electrical
parameters measured include current and voltage at MPP as
obtained at each PV array output. All the installed
acquisition devices are shown below (see Table III).
Fig. 1. Photovoltaic systems installed at the University of Cyprus Nicosia,
Cyprus.
TABLE III
INSTALLED DATA ACQUISITION EQUIPMENT AND SENSORS
AT BOTH TEST SITES.
Parameter
Sensor
Model
Data Measurement
Temperature Ambient
Temperature Module
Global Irradiance
Direct Normal
Irradiance (DNI) Sensor
DC Voltage
DC Current
Datalogger
Temperature
Temperature
Pyranometer
Pyrheliometer
TopMessage
PT 100
PT 100
CM 21
CH 1
DC Voltage
DC Current
Potential Divider
Shunt Resistor
The PV systems at both sites have been monitored from
the beginning of June 2006 and currently the second year of
evaluation has been completed.
IV. PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS IN CYPRUS
Fig. 2. Photovoltaic systems installed at the ipe Stuttgart, Germany
Most PV installations in Cyprus include grid connected
systems on rooftops and stand alone systems in remote areas
used for agricultural purposes but also to power
4
250
Stuttgart
Nicosia
200
2
Solar Irradiation [kWh/m ]
150
100
50
Winter
1.0
Spring
1/
9/
2
1/ 006
10
/2
1/ 006
11
/2
00
6
1/
6/
20
1/ 06
7/
20
1/ 06
8/
20
06
Summer
Autumn
Fig. 4. Solar irradiation in the POA as measured by the pyranometers
installed both in Nicosia and Stuttgart.
Availability (MW)
Generation (MW)
PV AC Power (kW)
1000
1/
3/
20
1/ 07
4/
20
1/ 07
5/
20
07
0
1/
12
/2
0
1/ 06
1/
20
1/ 07
2/
20
07
telecommunication and other remote cabinets.
The most important advantage of PV usage in Cyprus is
its ability to minimise the maximum electricity demand. This
important advantage of PV systems over other renewable
energy technologies has been demonstrated in accordance to
its electricity production which is in phase with maximum
electricity demand. In Cyprus most of the load is consumed
during the hot summer period due to the increased operation
of air conditioning systems. It is estimated that maximum
demand and electricity consumption will be increasing in
Cyprus mainly due to the increase of building construction
and this may accordingly lead to electricity tariffs that are
more favourable for PV generation (Fig. 3).
17
/0
9/
20
06
V. RESULTS
A. Solar Resource in Cyprus
PV modules installed in Cyprus are subject to high
irradiation which favours their performance but also to
extreme high module temperatures up to 60 °C in the
summer. The solar irradiation measured on site in Cyprus
using the installed pyranometer was found to be 1997
kWh/m2 with maximum contribution during the summer
period. Lower annual irradiation for the same time period
(1/06/2006 – 1/6/2007) has been measured by the same type
of pyranometer in Stuttgart with annual irradiation of 1460
kWh/m2 and highest irradiance shown in April (see Fig. 4).
As it is essential to avoid uncertainty errors in
measurements obtained from only one source (the central
pyranometer) a number of silicon solar radiation sensors
have been further spread over the field to detect
inhomogeneous irradiation, which could be caused by
obstacles afar. At both locations the measured deviation
between silicon solar cell sensors was very small
approximately 1 % ensuring the validity of the measured
results.
25
20
15
10
5
0
12
/1
/2
0
1/ 06
1/
20
2/ 07
1/
20
07
Fig. 3. Weekly variation of total generation (MW), availability (MW) in
phase with PV electricity generation of a 1 kWp installed system. The plot
shows only time periods from 6:00 am to 17:00 pm every day.
Stuttgart
Nicosia
30
Ambient Temperature [ °C]
15
/0
9/
20
06
13
/0
9/
20
06
11
/0
9/
20
06
35
Winter
Spring
9/
1/
2
10 006
/1
/2
11 00
/1 6
/2
00
6
0.0
00
:0
0:
00
0
00
:0
0:
00
0.2
00
:0
0:
00
200
6/
1/
20
7/ 06
1/
20
8/ 06
1/
20
06
0.4
400
A comparison of average daily ambient temperatures has
also shown that in Cyprus the maximum average ambient
temperature of 29 °C in the summer and minimum of 9 °C
during the winter is obtained. The climatic conditions were
different in Stuttgart as the observed ambient temperatures
reached maximum averages of 23 °C in July and respective
minimum temperatures of 4 °C in December (see Fig. 5) [5].
3/
1/
20
4/ 07
1/
20
5/ 07
1/
20
07
600
PV AC Power (kW)
0.6
00
:0
0:
00
Total Generation (MW)
0.8
800
Summer
Autumn
Fig. 5. Ambient monthly average temperature measured both in Nicosia
and Stuttgart.
B. Solar Energy production
Most installed PV systems produced annual ac energy
yield within the range of 1600-1700 kWh/kWp (see Fig. 6).
For the same period of time the tracker has shown ac energy
yields of 2039 kWh/kWp and dc energy yield of 2236
kWh/kWp showing 30 % higher ac energy yield of the
tracker than the average fixed plate energy yield for the same
period [6].
5
2500
2500
DC Energy Yield
AC ENergy Yield
AC Energy Yield [kWh/kWprated]
2000
Energy Yield [kWh/kWprated]
Stuttgart AC Energy Yield [kWh/kWp]
Nicosia AC Energy Yield [kWh/kWp]
1500
1000
500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
At
er
sa
m
At
e
At rsa
er
sa Tra
m cke
BP ono r
m -c-S
o
Su
S no i
nP an -cSI
ow yo
er HI
m T-S
on
i
ocSi
Sc
ho
tt
So Sc MA
IN
h
la
-S
rW ott
or EF i
ld
G
So mu -Si
lti
lo
-c
n
-S
m
i
ul
ticSi
M
its
ub
is
h
S c i aho Si
W tt a
Fi urt -Si
rs
h
tS C
ol IGS
ar
C
dT
e
on
oA t c-S
er
I
sa tra
m cke
on
r
BP
om c-S
Su
on
I
S
nt
o
ec an -cSi
hn yo
ic
H
s
I
m T-S
on
i
ocSi
Sc
ho
tt
So Sc M A
ho IN
la
-S
rW tt
o r EF i
ld
G
m
So
u l Si
lo
tin
c
m -S
i
ul
ticSi
M
its
Sc u b
ho ish
i
tt
So a-S
i
la
W ra
?
-S
Fi
i
rs rt h
t S CI
G
ol
ar S
Cd
Te
0
Fig. 6. DC and AC Energy yield of the installed systems in Nicosia in the
time period June 2006 – June 2007. The values are normalized to the
nameplate power.
Fig. 8. AC-Energy yield of the 12 fixed systems in Stuttgart and Nicosia in
the time period 01.06.2006 – 01.06.2007. The values are normalized to
[kWp] with the nameplate power.
The highest annual energy yield was obtained from the
SunPower mono c-Si, Sanyo HIT, Copper Indium Gallium
Diselenide (CIGS) and Cadmium telluride (CdTe) systems
(the latter two being thin film technologies). The highest
average energy yield was shown during the summer months
with June providing the highest ac yield of 168 kWh/kWp for
the fixed plate systems and 215 kWh/kWp for the tracker.
An important observation made was that technologies
with the lowest temperature coefficients have shown the
highest annual energy yields.
In addition, the increased module temperature that is
observed in Cyprus is an important loss mechanism
especially near midday reaching an excess of 60 ˚C (see Fig.
9).
AC Energy Yield [kWh/kWp]
600
50
600
40
400
30
200
Module temperature (°C)
Summer
Autumn
Winter
Spring
60
Power DC
Power AC
Module Temperature
800
DC - AC Power (W)
700
1000
20
0
500
10
23:00:00
07:00:00
15:00:00
23:00:00
400
300
200
Fig. 9. DC power, AC power and module backside temperature over the
course of a sunny day in Cyprus (10th of August 2006) for PV system
(Sanyo HIT).
100
A
te
At rsa
er
T
sa ra
ck
m
on er
B
oP
cm
on Si
S
oun Sa
c
-S
Po ny
w oH I
er
I
m T-S
on
i
ocS
i
S
ch
ot
tM
S
A
S
c
I
ol
ar hot N-S
W
t
i
or EF
ld
G
m -S
S
i
ul
ol
on ti-c
-S
m
i
ul
ticS
i
M
its
ub
is
hi
a
S
ch -Si
ot
ta
W
-S
Fi urt
i
h
rs
t S CI
G
ol
ar S
C
dT
e
0
Fig. 7. AC Energy yields of the installed systems in Nicosia in the four
seasons, normalized to the nameplate power.
C. Comparison of Performance with Germany
The high potential of PV in Cyprus is obvious when
comparing data between the two test sites. In Stuttgart the
average annual yield was 1194 kWh/kWprated and in Nicosia
it was 1580 kWh/kWprated. The difference between the best
and the worst performing PV-system is 15 % in both
countries related to the average values (see Fig. 8) although
it should be noted that the solar irradiation measured in
Stuttgart during the period of June 2006 – June 2007 was
approximately 19 % higher than the long term average
irradiation of other years.
VI. CONCLUSION
The key to successful integration of photovoltaic systems
is to have knowledge of their performance and potential
under the climatological conditions of any particular
location. The high energy yield and performance results of
the different PV systems installed in Cyprus clearly indicate
that such technologies can have a major impact and potential
as an integral part of the future energy mix of Cyprus.
Finally information extracted in this work will help to
classify the performance of each technology for the
particular climatological conditions in Cyprus.
VII. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of
the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature
Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), which supported
this work under contract No. 0327553. We also gratefully
acknowledge the support by the companies Atersa, First
Solar GmbH, Phönix Sonnenstrom AG, Schott Solar GmbH,
6
SMA Technologie AG, SolarWorld AG, Solon AG and
Würth Solar GmbH & Co.KG. Finally the authors would
like to acknowledge the financial support by the Cyprus
Research
Promotion
Foundation
(grant
number
TEXNO0506/16).
VIII. REFERENCES
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
Systemes Solaires, "Le Journal des Energies Renouvelables,"
Photovoltaic Barometer, No. 184-2008, Apr. 2008.
B. Zinsser, G. Makrides, G. E. Georghiou and J. H. Werner, " First
Operation Year of 13 Photovoltaic Technologies in Germany and
Cyprus," in Proc. 2007 EUPVSEC Conf., pp. 17-20.
U. A. Rahoma, "Utilization of Solar Radiation in High Energy
Intensive of the World by PV System," American Journal of
Environmental Sciences, vol. 4, pp. 121-128, 2008.
PhotoVoltaic technology Platform, "A Strategic Research Agenda for
Photovoltaic Solar Energy Technology," vol. LB-77-07-276-EN-C,
pp. 1-70.
G. Makrides, B. Zinsser, G. E. Georghiou, M. Schubert and J. H.
Werner, "Outdoor Efficiency of Different Photovoltaic Systems
Installed in Cyprus and Germany," in Proc. 2008 PVSC33 Conf., pp.
17-20.
G. Makrides, B. Zinsser, G. E. Georghiou and J. Werner,
"Performance assessment of different Photovoltaic Systems under
Identical field conditions of high irrdaiance," in Proc. 2008 PV-SAT4
Conf., pp. 199-202.
IX. BIOGRAPHIES
George Makrides received the BEng First Class Honours degree in
Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Queen Mary University of
London in 2003. He continued his studies obtaining the MPhil degree in
Engineering from the University of Cambridge and graduated in 2004. He
worked for two years as a radio network engineer in a private
telecommunication operator of Cyprus and he is currently a PhD student at
the University of Cyprus, Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering. His research interests include renewable sources of energy
and specifically photovoltaic systems.
Bastian Zinsser received his undergraduate and postgraduate degree from
the Institute of Physical Electronics University of Stuttgart and is currently
a PhD student at the same Institute in the field of Photovoltaic Systems.
His research interests include the areas of grid connected photovoltaic
systems, PV system modeling and analysis.
George E. Georghiou is currently an Assistant Professor at the
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Cyprus.
Prior to this, he was the undergraduate course leader in Electrical
Engineering at the University of Southampton, Department of Electronics
and Computer Science and a Research Advisor for the Energy Utilisation,
University of Cambridge. Having graduated from the University of
Cambridge with a BA (1995 – First Class), MEng (1996 – Distinction) and
PhD (1999), Dr Georghiou continued his work at the University of
Cambridge in the capacity of a Fellow at Emmanuel College for a further
three years (1999-2002). His research interests lie predominantly in the
area of renewable sources of energy and in the utilization of
electromagnetic fields and plasma processes for environmental, food
processing and biomedical applications, BioMEMS, Nanotechnology and
Power Systems.
Markus B. Schubert holds a Dipl.-Ing. and a Dr.-Ing. degree, both
obtained from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of
Stuttgart. Since 1985, he worked as a research assistant at Stuttgart
University, Institute of Physical Electronics (ipe). Since 1993 he serves as a
group leader at ipe, managing various research projects on thin film sensors
and solar cells. M. B. Schubert has authored and coauthored more than 100
publications. Since 1999, he assists Prof. J. H. Werner as the associate
director of ipe.
Jürgen H. Werner is currently the Director of the Institute of Physical
Electronics (ipe) at the University of Stuttgart and widely accepted as a
pioneer in the field of PV. He earned his diploma degree in 1979 from the
University of Tübingen and received his Ph.D. from the University of
Stuttgart in 1983. His PhD thesis work on grain boundaries in silicon at the
Max-Planck-Institute for Solid State Research, received the Otto-HahnMedal of the Max-Planck-Society, in recognition for the quality of his
work. Between 1985-1987 he spent two years in the United States as a
guest scientist at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center and AT&T Bell
Laboratories, Murry Hill, working on Schottky diodes. In 1987 he was
offered a position as a permanent scientist at the Max-Planck-Society and
in 1991 he received the habilitation from the University of Munich. During
these years, his research concentrated on semiconductor interfaces. In 1996
he became the director and full professor of the Institute for Physical
Electronics. Prof. Werner is author and co-author of over 230 publications,
the editor of nine books and has more than 30 invited papers at prestigious
international conferences..