I.M. Dharmadasa is Professor of Applied Physics and leads the Electronic Materials and Solar Energy (Solar Cells and other Semiconductor Devices) Group at Sheffield Hallam University(SHU), UK. Dharme has worked in semiconductor research since becoming a PhD student at Durham University as a Commonwealth Scholar in 1977, under the supervison of the late Sir Gareth Roberts. His interest in the electrodeposition of thin film solar cells grew when he joined the Apollo Project at BP Solar in 1988. He continued this area of research on joining Sheffield Hallam University in 1990.
He has published 116 refereed & conference papers, has 6 GB patents on Thin Film Solar cells and has made 135 conference presentations. He has made 5 book contributions and is the author of the book Advances in Thin Film Solar cells, which is due out in Summer 2011. IMD has also successfully supervised 14 PhD and MPhil candidates and 14 years of PDRA support. He has gained research council and internal University funding and was included in the 2001 RAE for Metallurgy and Materials which gained the top rating of five. He is currently working with a group of industrial partners (Ionotec Ltd, Pilkington plc and ICP Solar UK) to commercialise his new research findings with the UK Government's DTI-funding.
His recent scientific breakthroughs, which are fundamental to describing the photovoltaic activity of CdTe/CdS solar cells, were summarised in a "new theoretical model for CdTe”. Based on these novel ideas he has reported a higher efficiency of 18% for the CdTe/CdS cell, compared with 16.5% reported by NREL in the United States. He currently focusses on low-cost methods to develop Thin film solar cells based on electrodeposited CIGS materials,where he has reported efficiencies of 15.9% to date, compared with the highest value of 19.5% reported by NREL using more expensive techniques. His article 'Fermi level pinning and effects on CuInGaSe2-based thin-film solar cells' was selected to be part of the Semiconductor Science and Technology Journal's Highlights of 2009.
In addition to his research and development programme, Dharmadasa is heavily involved in and passionate about promoting the use of renewable energy for the alleviation of poverty and economic development. He was one of the founding members of the The South Asia renewable Energy programme which is now becoming an international programme for the promotion of renewables . As a Sri Lankan from a rural village in the Kurunagala District, he has taken back his knowledge to his village, recently setting up machinary to provide several local villages with free drinking water by replacing an expensive diesel pump with a solar powered motor. He intends to extend this concept through his "Village Power" programme by setting up solar powered energy hubs in developing countries with the hope of empowering rural communities to grow and develop through education and commerce.