Specializing in
- PV cell and system design and performance modeling,
- PV cell and module test procedures, measurement protocols and performance analysis,
- PV cell and module fabrication process development.
- Due diligence reviews of PV companies and proposals
- On-site or webcast-based Short Course on PV Science, Technology, and Manufacturing
- Expert Witness services for legal proceedings
- Resume'
- Sandia Letter of Reference
- Short Course Outline
I have over 22 years of experience as a Senior and Principal Member of the Technical Staff in the Photovoltaic Technology Department at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
With my expertise in semiconductor device physics, I have been involved in the development and fabrication of advanced silicon and compound semiconductor . I have been heavily involved with assisting key members of the U.S. photovoltaics industry in improving the performance and cost of their silicon cell products.
I have contributed towards improvements in device performance by optimizing techniques such as plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) for low-temperature bulk and surface defect passivation and Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) for multicrystalline Si texturization.
I was instrumental in simplifying the process for a space-cell manufacturer by implementing image-reversal photolithography for the thick-metal liftoff process.
Before my employment at Sandia, I received my Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Illinois for work in compound-semiconductor device and material characterization, and a in Physics from MIT. I have a strong background in semiconductor devices and team-oriented approach to problem-solving.
Business Relevance: I have a wide, overall knowledge of the photovoltaics industry, especially the technologies of crystalline and multicrystalline silicon, and concentrating photovoltaics using compound semiconductor materials for solar cells.
I offer:
- Innovative and reliable PV cell design, modeling, and performance analysis
- Quick and efficient pinpointing of performance-limiting mechanisms and solutions for their removal
- A wealth of knowledge and experience for development of novel PV cell device structures, materials, and fabrication processes.
References from my Linked-In website:
Recommendations:
as
Owner of Douglas Ruby, Ph.D., Consultant to the
Photovoltaic Industry
“Doug is one of the most
knowledgeable experts in the area of silicon solar cell design, processing and
applications. His accomplishments include significant work in concentrator and
multicrystalline cells. As the contact monitor at Sandia, Doug demonstrated
keen understanding of the problems and technical leadership that helped us to
achieve program goals.” February 29, 2012
was with another company when working with Douglas at Douglas Ruby, Ph.D.
“Douglas is a well respected and well
known silicon wafer solar cell and module expert with many years of
professional expertise, both at public research institutes and in industry. His
expertise covers the broad range from solar cell device processing to
characterization and modeling of solar cells.” February 28, 2012
Top qualities: Expert, Good Value,
High Integrity
Armin ABERLE, Deputy CEO at Solar Energy
Research Institute of Singapore, Professor at National University of Singapore,
Director, Silicon Photovoltaics Department at Solar Energy Research Institute
of Singapore, hired Douglas as a Technology consultant in 2010
“Doug is a knowledgeable PV expert who helped my company in its early
stages. He provided excellent insight on cell architectures and process
parameters to improve cell performance. Doug is easy to work with and a good
communicator.” February 24, 2012
Top qualities: Personable, Expert,
High Integrity
Ed Murrer, hired Douglas as a PV consulting in
2008
“Douglas has extensive experience in the field of silicon solar cells and is
very well qualified to assist companies to achieve performance improvements.”
February 24, 2012
Andrew Blakers, Director, Centre for
Sustainable Energy Systems, Australian National University, was with another
company when working with Douglas at Douglas Ruby, Ph.D.
“From our mutual work, I found out
that Douglas is one of the biggest experts in the PV field. He knows this field inside out.” February 24,
2012
Dan Shilo, Director General, PV Experts Israel,
was with another company when working with Douglas at Douglas Ruby, Ph.D.
“Doug performed an audit of PV module
measurement capability of the Florida Solar Energy Center. He performed the
service in a timely fashion and provided an excellent report of the results.”
April 21, 2010
Top qualities: Expert, Good Value,
High Integrity
John Wohlgemuth, Current: Principle Reliability
Physicist at NREL Past: Program Manager
at BP Solar, hired Douglas as a Auditing of PV module measurements in 2009
“Doug Ruby contracted to us at Skyline Solar. His analysis was insightful
and thorough. Doug is an expert in Solar Cell modeling and the physics of solar
cells. He is a great resource when a technical conundrum is creating a dispute
or controversy in a company.” November 3, 2010
Top qualities:Great Results, Expert, High Integrity
“Doug is an expert in the field of silicon wafer based photovoltaic manufacturing
process. He greatly contributed to our project's success and was easy to work
with.” April 30, 2009
Top qualities:Great Results, Expert, Good Value
Kurt Laetz, hired Douglas as a Technology &
Process Consultant in 2008
“Doug is a great communicator and
explains photovoltaics concepts at a level that everyone can understand. He can
also go into depth on a number of topics, providing expert insight even to
veterans in the solar industry.” April 6, 2009
Top qualities: Personable, Expert, High Integrity
“We had hired Doug as a consultant to help us in
the Photovoltaic Device area. Doug has lots of experience in c-Si based Solar
Cells - device physics and technology. He was able to easily articulate the
areas of improvement with solid reasoning. He helped us put together a
technological roadmap to achieve our goals. Doug is very professional and
friendly to work with. He has very good teaching skills as well.” January 27, 2009
Top qualities: Expert , Good Value , High Integrity
Sanjay Thekdi, hired Douglas as a
Photovoltaic Consultant in 2008
“Doug completed a device performance modeling project for our solar cell
product development. Doug's work was very helpful in our understanding of the
key factors driving performance in our particular device structure. This
understanding helped focus development priorities on the most important
factors. I found Doug to be very easy to work with, and his work product was
excellent and on time. I would hire Doug again without hesitation.” January 26, 2009
Top qualities: Great Results , Expert , High Integrity
Ron Mossohired Douglas as a PV Device Consultant in
2008
“Doug has extensive experience in solar cells. He was able to quickly
pinpoint the areas of improvement in our solar cells. We were able to
prioritize the development depending on the expected improvements and were able
to reach many of our milestones. His technical input has been very useful for
our development and has ranged from device fabrication to characterization.” January 25, 2009
Uma Srinivasan, Principal Device
Development Engineer/Manager (Solar R&D) , NanoGram Corporation worked
directly with Douglas at Douglas Ruby, Ph.D.
“Doug did a great job for us. His ability to explain observed data and
predict the results of tests before they were run saved us many hours of lab
time and gave us the theoretical validation that we needed early in our
development cycle. Doug is a very easy person to deal with and he was able to
tailor his explanations to his audience whether it was a room full of Ph.D.'s
or senior execs.” January 6, 2009
Top qualities: Great Results , Personable , Expert
“Doug did some technical consulting
for us in the space of crystalline silicon solar cell passivation, operation
under concentrated sunlight and anti-reflection coatings. Doug has a deep
working knowledge of what works and can provide detailed recipes that will
work. He's a great asset to anyone in the solar cell space.” January
2, 2009
Top qualities: Expert , Good Value , On Time
“Doug has been of great help for our solar cell project. His hands on
knowledge helped us with various aspects of testing and characterization. He
also did extensive PC1D simulations to help validate our solar cell concept and
to help illuminate some of our technical issues. His experience in PV has
helped us to move forward more rapidly.” December 24, 2008
Top qualities: Personable , Expert , High Integrity
“Doug offers years of experience in the area of
PV and can bootstrap a PV development effort or add breadth to an existing
development effort. He is easy to work with and has excellent contacts within
the industry as well.” December 11, 2008
Top qualities: Personable , Expert , Good Value
Jim Hunter, hired Douglas as a PV Consultant in
2008
“Doug is one of the solar industry's most experienced PV cell scientists. He
brings a valuable depth of knowledge and clear, methodical approach to
engineering design problems. The output of his work hit every technical
objective and was done on time.” December 11, 2008
Top qualities: Expert , On Time , High Integrity
Principal
Member of Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories “Doug and I had numerous work related interactions during the time we worked
together on several different projects. He was a good source of knowledge when
I had a question on the device physics in photovoltaic semiconductors. His
education background and experience in the PV field makes him a good resource
for device and production related issues.” December 15, 2008
JasonFinn, Member of Technical Staff , Sandia National Laboratories
worked with Douglas at Sandia National Laboratories
“I worked with Doug on a number of
collaborations on development of solar cell technology between 1990 and 2003
while he was at Sandia Laboratories. This was done both under a CRADA from my
previous company as well as part of a industry-wide consortium, which developed
innovative and advanced concepts for solar cell fabrication. Doug's
participation and leadership exhibited a high scientific standard and he
maintained an outstanding professional caliber of experimentation during all
this work.” December 11, 2008
Top qualities: Expert , Good Value , Creative
Juris Kalejs hired Douglas as a R&D
project leader in 1990 , and hired Douglas more than once
Student
at University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign “Douglas was a student with me at MIT and I know him
to be very smart, dedicated, hard working and high achieving. I also went to
the University of Illinois with Douglas and have kept in touch with him over
the years. I know he is a knowledgeable leader in the field of Photovoltaics
with extensive experience and achievements.” December 11, 2008
, Student , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
studied with Douglas at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
“I studied with Doug Ruby at the University of Illinois and have kept in touch
with him on a regular basis since that time. I have known Doug to be a
thoughtful and conscientious person and can definitely recommend him.” December 11, 2008
studied with Douglas at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
