Colloquium: Jeremy Munday
Wednesday, September 28, 2016 · 3:30 - 4:30 PM
TITLE: The
Physics and Photonics of Next Generation Solar Cells
ABSTRACT: Converting sunlight into electricity is an important process that spans many fields from physics and chemistry to electrical engineering and materials science. For a traditional solar cell, the maximum power conversion efficiency is ~33%; however, the thermodynamic limit for converting sunlight to power is ~95%. So what happens to this extra 62% and can it be recovered? Surprisingly, optics may hold the key to recovering much of this loss. Here, I will present our recent work on a variety of architectures used to confine and control light on the nanoscale for applications in solar energy. Structures can be designed to act as broadband antireflection coatings, localized couplers to waveguide modes, and optical concentrators. To surpass the efficiency limit of traditional photovoltaic devices, I will discuss novel new methods using nanoscale optical concentration, photonic crystals to effectively modify the semiconductor bandgap, and the generation and collection of hot electrons in plasmonic structures.
ABSTRACT: Converting sunlight into electricity is an important process that spans many fields from physics and chemistry to electrical engineering and materials science. For a traditional solar cell, the maximum power conversion efficiency is ~33%; however, the thermodynamic limit for converting sunlight to power is ~95%. So what happens to this extra 62% and can it be recovered? Surprisingly, optics may hold the key to recovering much of this loss. Here, I will present our recent work on a variety of architectures used to confine and control light on the nanoscale for applications in solar energy. Structures can be designed to act as broadband antireflection coatings, localized couplers to waveguide modes, and optical concentrators. To surpass the efficiency limit of traditional photovoltaic devices, I will discuss novel new methods using nanoscale optical concentration, photonic crystals to effectively modify the semiconductor bandgap, and the generation and collection of hot electrons in plasmonic structures.
