Nanostructured Copper Sulfide Alloys for Solar Energy Conversion

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Technical: The scientific goal of this project is to understand and control film growth and penetration of atomic layer deposited copper sulfide semiconductors onto mesoporous oxide templates. Critical to this research is use of atomic layer deposition to control the material growth at atomic resolutions to achieve ultrathin conformal copper sulfide-based semiconducting films that follow the contours of nanostructured oxides, and a suite of characterization tools to understand the mechanisms for film growth and resulting materials properties. The industrial partner, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., provides custom metal organic precursors, which enable unprecedented control over material stoichiometry and phase, a major issue with previous attempts to utilize Cu-based materials for solar energy conversion. The ability of the atomic layer deposition precursors to conformally coat the mesoporous nanoparticle and nanowire templates as a function of material processing conditions is studied using high resolution electron microscopy and optical studies. Focus is placed on understanding and controlling the material phase and homogeneity, trap state density, structural defects, and electronic structure as evaluated by X-ray synchrotron measurements, photothermal deflection spectroscopy, and the transport properties of materials and devices.Non-technical: The project addresses basic research issues in a topical area of materials science with high technological relevance. It contributes to the development of semiconductor materials based on abundant, non-toxic elements that could be used for solar energy conversion. The PIs plan to expand their successful track record of training underrepresented physics students through collaborations with local Hispanic-serving community colleges and organizations. Much of this work is performed at the UCSC Advanced Studies Laboratory, providing students exposure to both NASA and industrial collaborators.