| Name | Mario Ochoa |
| Promotion | 2018 |
| Position | Postdoctoral researcher |
| Company | Universidad de Cantabria |
What is current occupation?
Researcher in photonics. Specifically on the development of Lab-on-Chip devices and optical fibre sensors.
How has the Master impacted your career?
Profoundly.
The Master’s studies promoted my passion and motivation for science and knowledge and were the starting point of my subsequent PhD studies and research career.
What aspect of the Master did you like more?
Professor’s knowledge.
How do you perceive the future of the photovoltaic technology?
Photovoltaic large-scale systems installations will keep increasing, showing potential to become a majority global energy source in some decades. In addition, the enhancement of technologies enabling flexible devices will open new opportunities for building-integrated photovoltaics, portable devices or transport vehicles.
Regarding photovoltaic research, efforts to develop emerging or next-generation photovoltaic solar cells (perovskite, organic, quantum dots) will attempt to achieve better material quality and performance. Although there is still room for improvement, many solar cells exhibit relatively high efficiencies. Thus, it is reasonable to observe and expect research on tandems and multijunction structures, especially combining emerging/novel technologies with more established ones, i.e. thin-films (CIGS, CdTeSe), III-V, or silicon. Concentration and space photovoltaics employing III-V multijunction solar cells have already proved the highest efficiency reported; therefore, they may focus on technical innovations enabling strategies for fabrication methods at lower costs.
The future seems bright, diverse and exciting for photovoltaic technology!
