Lanka has potential for thin film solar cell manufacture -Prof. Sivalingam Sivananthan

by Gamini Warushamana

A Sri Lankan scientist and entrepreneur, Prof. Sivalingam Sivananthan was recently honoured with the title 'White House Champion of Change', an honour that recognises immigrant entrepreneurs in the US.

Dr. Sivananthan was honoured at a ceremony at the White House on May 29 for his work on semiconductor material, Mercury Cadmium Telluride or MCT that is at the heart of night vision technology. This accolade recognises his leadership, entrepreneurship, and public service.

In an exclusive interview with Sunday Observer Business Prof. Sivananthan shared memories of his childhood, university education and his experience as a successful researcher and entrepreneur. He is a distinguished Professor of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Director, Microphysics Laboratory (MPL), University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). He is also the founder of Sivananthan Laboratories Inc. and its group of companies.

Following are excerpts of the interview.

"By nature I am an entrepreneur but I am also a hard scientist. Both go hand on hand in technological innovation." That was how he responded to our question on what type of person he was.

I was born in Chavakachcheri, Jaffna and had my primary education at Saraswathi College, Chavachcheri. I think this school laid the foundation for my success. It taught me how to build self confidence.

Normally in Sri Lanka, village people always build self-confidence among their children with the 'you can do it' approach. My parents were teachers by profession and I was the sixth in a family of nine. My parents were also hard working villagers and therefore in school and at home we were encouraged to face challenges, do the right things and build self-confidence and most importantly they valued education above all else.

Family values

When I was in grade six I entered Jaffna Hindu College where I completed my secondary education. I was there from 1967-75. I got the basic foundation of science and technology during this period. Teachers of the college were dedicated and they took the success of students as their own success.

After I passed the Advanced Level examination I entered the Faculty of Science of the University of Peradeniya where my adult student life was spent.Peradeniya is a unique place where one can discover one's abilities. There is a multi-cultural environment with students from different ethnicities, religions and social strata. I had many Sinhalese friends and some of them became famous figures later such as DIG Gamini Navarathne. Peradeniya university gave me a strong impetus to find myself. It was the next foundation of my success.

After graduating in Physical Science in 1979, I joined the Physics Department of the university as an assistant lecturer. Peradeniya changed my life and there were several good people who helped me. I met my wife Inthumathy at Peradeniya. She was a student in the Dental Faculty. She was from Nawalapitiya, a town close to Peradeniya. Her parents, specially my father-in-law Rajagopalan supported me.

The family values that we have in Sri Lanka are also a unique opportunity to shape our lives. All these people are behind my success. These family values help people to believe in themselves and achieve their targets with determination.

When the university opened its Batticaloa campus in 1981 in the Eastern province, I was the first person to go there.

In 1982 I left Sri Lanka for the United States to do my postgraduate studies. I came here without knowing anything about this land.

My journey to the US was my first experience of air travel and everything here was new and strange to me.

However, UIC guided me right from the airport and took care of me. They provided a lot of support mechanism in the university. I had a pleasant experience in the US from the beginning.

I started my studies in physics at the Microphysics Laboratory (MPL) at the UIC. Just after I joined the university, the US Department of Defence needed research to be conducted on infrared technology, specially on night vision technology for military purposes. They invested millions of dollars on research on the next generation of infra red technology for defence purposes. I was privileged to become the first post graduate student to take part in this research.

At the beginning everything there were totally new and unfamiliar to me and I didn't know how to work and I had to struggle alone. This is where the values that I acquired in my childhood, from parents, schools and the Peradeniya university helped me. I always had the 'I can do it' feeling. It was a great opportunity that I got.

Night vision

At UIC, I obtained my Masters and Ph.D. in Physics. In 1994, I became the Director of MPL and made it my mission to pioneer the growth of infrared detecting material, Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT), used for high performance night-vision cameras in military and space applications.

Through dedication, commitment and passion, and with the support of the UIC, the MPL team pioneered the molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) growth of MCT, allowing it to become the dominant material in infrared night-vision technology.

In night vision technology we convert light into electricity. Every living body emits infra red light and in night vision technology we capture this light and convert it into electricity.

It is similar to the technology used in CCTV cameras.

It can pass through obstacles and by using infrared light we can see through obstacles. This technology is used for military and civil purposes. For instance, in a fire, the fire fighters can use infrared technology to see through flames and smoke to find where people are trapped.

It is being used in rescue operations, landing planes and helicopters in dusty or cloudy conditions. NASA uses it to obtain images of space and planets. Infrared lights are extremely sensitive and a little light can create an image. Infrared lights are not absorbed by smoke or dust conditions and therefore we can see through them.

It is also used in medicine and detecting tumors and other illness in the human body, in transportation by assisting vehicles to navigate at night, in fog or in poor visibility, identifying internal defects in walls and diagnosing thermal loss in structures (manufacturing and inspection) are a few of the many uses of this technology.

Solar technology

He said that the same material MCT after slight modification or without Mercury is used to develop efficient solar cells. There are two technologies used in solar cells today; silicon based technology and Cadmium Telluride (CT) based technology. CT has captured 50 percent of the thin film solar cells market.

CT solar technology is efficient compared to silicone solar cells because it takes two years to recover the energy needed to produce a silicon solar cell while CT solar cells need only six months. It is a huge difference. Our research is focused on improving this technology.

Prof. Sivananthan said that he gained his entrepreneurial skills too in his childhood. Our parents provided us everything essential for a child to do studies well. However, if we needed something extra we had to earn the money needed. I did a little trading selling mangoes, drumsticks or coconuts and earned an extra income to meet my expenses.

In the US I founded several companies including Sivananthan Laboratories to assist in the further development and incubation of infrared technology. This technology, including night-vision capability, has become the cornerstone of US defence, and has saved the lives of thousands of US soldiers.

Business incubator

In 1991, at the end of the first Gulf War, General Barry McCaffrey said, "Our night vision capability provided the single greatest mismatch of the war." In 2005, I received the 'Friend of the Night, Conquest of Darkness' award from the US Army Night Vision Laboratory. In 2011, given the accomplishments of my MPL team and myself, I was named Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Physics at UIC.

Sivananthan Laboratories Inc. is a high tech business incubator focused on promoting economic growth in Illinois and the United States by fostering cutting-edge, fundamental research and development. Sivananthan Laboratories is modeled after the famous Bell Laboratories.

Indeed, the demise of major industrial laboratories such as Bell Labs has left a large gap in domestic technology development and threatens future economic growth. Sivananthan Laboratories will bridge this gap by creating and assisting small businesses in nurturing their ability to research new technologies, create jobs, and generate innovative products and services.

We at Sivananthan Laboratories cherish an ecosystem of scientific collaboration among academia, industry, and government while working with external partners to use the fruits of successful research to improve the lives of people through production and commercialisation. We leverage these collaborations and bridge the gap between academia and industry.

One of the reasons for the demise of laboratories such as Bell Labs or Xerox Labs was their dependence on corporate and government funds for sustenance. Sivananthan Laboratories, on the other hand, focuses on research and on incubating companies.

As these companies mature and become economically self-sustainable, they are spun-off with the Sivananthan Laboratories owning significant equity. In addition to its technical expert teams, the laboratory is rapidly developing specialised and experienced teams in the areas of management, finance and governance.

Economic sustenance

These teams will provide professional services to the Sivananthan Laboratories group of companies hence delivering much needed value to the growing companies while generating revenue for the laboratory which reinforces its economic sustenance.

InSPIRE Illinois, EPIR Technologies Inc, Episensors Inc and Epimaterials are the other subsidiaries of Sivananthan Laboratories Inc. The Institute for Solar Photovoltaic Innovation, Research, and Edu-training ('InSPIRE' or 'InSPIRE Illinois') is a non-profit organisation with a mission to promote research, development, workforce training, and technology commercialisation within the solar and renewable energy industry.

EPIR Technologies Inc. is the first success story of Sivananthan Laboratories. Sivananthan Laboratories is the second largest holder of EPIR shares and it provides various services to EPIR for a fee. EPIR was founded in 1998 to provide specialised photovoltaic materials for the infrared and solar industries and to provide research and development services to government agencies and industry. Today, it has grown into a company recognised and respected in the IR and solar industries.

Solar cell research

Episensors Inc. develops and manufactures high technology products in areas pertaining to national security and defence. These efforts have focused primarily on the development of MCT based extended short wavelength infrared (eSWIR) cameras.

Epimaterials is focused on providing technological advancements in national defence, energy and manufacturing through creating innovative products based on cutting-edge research and development.

These efforts have primarily focused on the improvement of the important semiconductor materials used in such products.

Prof. Sivanathan said that Sri Lanka has the potential of being the leader in solar cell research and manufacturing if we strictly focused on this industry and channel resources.

In Sri Lanka our mindset is renewable energy and we mostly depend on hydro electricity. Apart from that Sri Lanka has the potential of being a solar cell manufacturing and service centre of the world. For instance, South Korea identified the discreet electronic sector as the thrust area of its economic development and they strictly focused on its research and investment on the sector and successfully captured the global market.

India recognised its potential in the IT BPO industry and strictly focused on it and succeeded.

They did not go into nano technology or chip manufacturing or other areas. Therefore, Sri Lanka too should identify the most potential area and focus on it. I think we have a great potential in thin film solar cell manufacturing.

There are yet no claimants for the leadership of the industry. The manufacturing process is simple, we have a strong foundation of basic education and we can easily train professionals.

On the other hand the geographical location is also important and our harbour facilities can be used because these bulky solar sells cannot be airlifted.

Prof. Sivananthan has already launched an initiative to train Sri Lankan professionals in this technology. Selected members of the academic staff from Peradeniya, Ruhuna, Kelaniya and Jaffna universities have been trained in the USA.

He is willing to invest in infrastructure development of solar technology research in Sri Lanka, and he proposes a common facility that all researchers in universities and other research institutions can use. He said that it should be a model like his Sivananthan laboratory where researchers pay for its use.