Dr Theo Hobson

Dr Theo Hobson is a research fellow in the Department of Materials, funded by EPSRC. His research focuses on the experimental characterisation of charge-transport interfaces in photovoltaic solar cells, especially next-generation tandem devices. In particular, Theo aims to deploy state-of the art x-ray spectroscopy techniques (e.g. photoemission and absorption) to probe defect-mediated recombination losses and degradation sites at functional interfaces relevant to silicon, perovskite and chalcogenide solar cells.

Leveraging this improved fundamental understanding, Theo intends to utilise atomic layer deposition to create low-defect functional interfaces for efficient charge transport in high-performance tandems. Besides his core research interests, Theo supports the development of scalable silicon-perovskite tandems and high-performance transparent conductive oxides within the Electronic and Interface Materials Laboratory. During his PhD and postdoc positions at the University of Liverpool, his work focused on advancing the understanding of novel chalcogenide thin film solar cells and energy materials synthesis scale-up.

Theo works in collaboration with academic and industrial partners including Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, The Institute for Solar Research Hamelin, Nanoprint Innovations and The University of Liverpool. As Chair of the Materials Postdoctoral Association, Theo is the researcher representative on the Department of Materials Departmental Committee and ED&I Committee, and represents department researchers on the MPLS division Research Staff Forum.

A full list of Theo’s publications can be found at ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0013-360X. A subset representing the range of research covered in these works is included below.

Selected Publications

[1]          M. K. Sharpe et al., ‘Characterisation of solar cell nanolayer interfaces using time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis’, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells, vol. 296, p. 114074, Mar. 2026, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2025.114074.

[2]          D. J. Keeble et al., ‘Detection and identification of vacancy defects in antimony selenide’, Nat. Commun., vol. 17, p. 1413, Jan. 2026, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-68153-x.

[3]          Y. Wang et al., ‘Impact of precursor dosing on the surface passivation of AZO/AlOx stacks formed using atomic layer deposition’, Energy Adv., 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.1039/D4YA00552J.

[4]          T. D. C. Hobson et al., ‘P-type conductivity in Sn-doped Sb2Se3’, J. Phys. Energy, vol. 4, no. 4, p. 045006, 2022, doi: https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7655/ac91a6.

[5]          T. D. C. Hobson, L. J. Phillips, O. S. Hutter, K. Durose, and J. D. Major, ‘Defect properties of Sb2Se3 thin film solar cells and bulk crystals’, Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 116, no. 26, 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0012697.

[6]          N. Fleck et al., ‘Identifying Raman modes of Sb2Se3 and their symmetries using angle-resolved polarised Raman spectra’, J. Mater. Chem. A, vol. 8, no. 17, pp. 8337–8344, 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.1039/D0TA01783C.

[7]          T. D. C. Hobson et al., ‘Isotype heterojunction solar cells using n-type Sb2Se3 thin films’, Chem. Mater., 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.0c00223.