Postdoctoral Fellowship: CREST-PRP: Investigation and design of Molecular Spintronic photovoltaic devices via Raman Spectroscopy

CREST博士后研究计划（CREST-PRP）为活跃的CREST中心的个人早期职业科学家提供为期两年的研究，培训和指导经验。CREST-PRP的目标是增加STEM领域代表性不足的群体成员的STEM劳动力。CREST-PRP奖项旨在表彰具有巨大潜力的研究人员，并支持他们的研究经验，以拓宽他们的视野，促进跨学科的互动，并为CREST-PRP学者在科学界的领导地位做好准备。研究项目“CREST-PRP：通过拉曼光谱研究和设计分子自旋光伏器件”与CREST-PRP的目标直接一致。该项目由哥伦比亚特区大学CREST纳米技术研究与教育中心（CNRE）的博士后研究员提交，该项目将专注于开发一种新型太阳能电池，该电池在效率，成本和可持续性方面上级典型的硅基太阳能电池。在CNRE已经开展的这一新兴太阳能电池科学的基础工作的基础上，该项目将利用电子的自旋特性来产生基于自旋的太阳能电池，这些太阳能电池是由廉价的、地球上丰富的材料（如铁和镍）开发的，使它们更便宜且可回收。这项拟议中的研究将通过提供能够产生大量光电流的大面积太阳能电池制造的见解来推进太阳能电池科学。该项目中正在研究的光学活性具有促进光捕获材料，光学传感器和新型超材料的其他创新的潜力。此外，该项目将为博士后研究人员提供培训和指导，提高学者作为研究人员和主要研究者的技能。该项目的拟议研究也符合CHIPS法案的目标，即加强半导体研究培训，以保持美国在全球半导体行业的竞争力。 磁性隧道结分子自旋电子器件（MTJMSDs）是将磁性隧道结（MTJ）的铁磁电极与有机金属簇（OMC）或单分子磁体（SMM）桥接分子沿器件暴露的边缘沿着连接而成。顺磁性OMC和SMM分子在室温下在铁磁电极之间产生强交换耦合。CNRE之前进行的研究表明，TaCoNiFe/AlOx/NiFe MTJMSD可以产生可重复的光电流，并使用各种磁性和光学实验方法提供了分子对铁磁金属电极产生变革性影响的证据。这项研究将包括各种顺磁分子桥，铁磁电极成分，和绝缘体厚度。拉曼研究还表明，MTJMSD的铁磁电极响应可见光辐射，这一因素将允许使用拉曼光谱调查的空间范围内的光伏效应的MTJMSD交叉结面积。研究结果将用于制造一个大面积（1平方厘米）的太阳能电池的基础上观察到的最佳分子/电极/空间取向的研究MTJMSDs。对这种基于自旋的光伏效应进行了有限的研究。然而，与传统的硅基器件相比，自旋太阳能电池的材料和制造成本更低，因此其开发可能会大大节省太阳能电池的生产成本。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The CREST Postdoctoral Research Program (CREST-PRP) provides two years of support for research, training, and mentoring experiences for individual early career scientists at active CREST Centers. The goal of the CREST-PRP is to increase the STEM workforce presence of individuals who are members of groups underrepresented in STEM fields. CREST-PRP awards recognize investigators with significant potential and support their research experiences to broaden their perspectives, facilitate interdisciplinary interactions, and prepare CREST-PRP scholars for positions of leadership within the scientific community. The research project “CREST-PRP: Investigation and Design of Molecular Spintronic Photovoltaic Devices Via Raman Spectroscopy” is in direct alignment with the CREST-PRP goals. Submitted by a postdoctoral researcher affiliated with the CREST Center for Nanotechnology Research and Education (CNRE) housed at the University of the District of Columbia, the project will focus on the development of a new type of solar cell that is superior to typical silicon-based solar cells in terms of efficiency, cost, and sustainability. Building on the foundational work in this emerging solar cell science already occurring at the CNRE, this project will take advantage of the spin property of electrons to generate spin-based solar cells developed from inexpensive, Earth-abundant materials like iron and nickel, making them cheaper and recyclable. The proposed research will advance solar cell science by providing insights into the fabrication of a large area solar cell capable of generating a substantial photocurrent. The optical activity under investigation in this project holds potential to promote other innovations in light harvesting materials, optical sensors, and novel metamaterials. Further, this project will provide training and mentorship to a postdoctoral researcher, enhancing the scholar’s skills as a researcher and principal investigator. The project’s proposed research also aligns with the CHIPS Act goal to bolster semiconductor research training to maintain American competitiveness in the global semiconductor industry. The Magnetic Tunnel Junction Molecular Spintronic Devices (MTJMSDs) utilized in this research are constructed by linking the ferromagnetic electrodes of a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) with an organometallic metal cluster (OMC) or a single molecule magnet (SMM) bridging molecule along the exposed edges of the device. The paramagnetic OMC and SMM molecules create strong exchange coupling between the ferromagnetic electrodes at room temperature. Previous research conducted at the CNRE has shown that the TaCoNiFe/AlOx/NiFe MTJMSD can generate a reproducible photocurrent and provided evidence of the molecules’ transformative impact on the ferromagnetic metal electrodes using various magnetic and optical experimental methods. This study will include a variety of paramagnetic molecular bridges, ferromagnetic electrode compositions, and insulator thicknesses. Raman studies also indicate that the MTJMSDs ferromagnetic electrodes respond to visible light radiation; this factor will allow the use of Raman spectroscopy to investigate the spatial range of the photovoltaic effect on the MTJMSD cross-junction area. Findings will be used to fabricate a large area (1 cm2) solar cell based on the optimal molecule/electrode/spatial orientation observed in the studied MTJMSDs. Limited research has been conducted on this spin-based photovoltaic effect. However, the development of spin-based solar cells may lead to significant cost savings in solar cell production due to the lower cost of materials and manufacture compared to traditional silicon-based devices.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.