Nanostructured materials for light harvesting applications

纳米结构半导体材料，包括纳米线和纳米空洞阵列，是包括光伏在内的一系列光收集应用的引人注目的候选系统。与标准的大块或薄膜系统相比，它们的几何形状有几个优点，包括减少材料的使用，从而降低成本和更可持续的生产，以及对大块晶体缺陷的固有容错性，这是由于使用了横向提取方案，从而实现了高载流子收集效率。该项目将解决光学设计的要求，利用这些系统的折射率的周期性调制来实现e场限制，并在纳米尺度上产生强大的太阳吸收，以及由于这些系统的广泛表面积而对其至关重要的表面状态钝化问题。该项目将侧重于III-V材料，特别是InP和相关合金，它们表现出自钝化行为。最近对该材料系统的保形涂层能量选择触点的演示为表面态钝化问题提供了一个有希望的解决方案。这个项目包含模拟、制造和表征元素，尽管它可以根据学生的兴趣进行调整。

Nanostructured semiconductor materials including nanowire and nanovoid arrays are compelling candidate systems for a range of light harvesting applications including photovoltaics. Their geometry offers several advantages over standard bulk or thin film systems including reduced materials usage for lower costs and more sustainable production, as well as an inherent tolerance to bulk crystal defects, resulting from the use of lateral extraction schemes which enable high carrier collection efficiency. This project will address the requirement for optical design which exploits the periodic modulation in refractive index in these systems to achieve E-field confinement and resulting strong solar absorption in nanoscale volumes, as well as the issue of surface state passivation which is critical for these systems due to their extensive surface area. This project will focus on III-V materials, in particular InP and related alloys, which exhibit a self-passivation behaviour. Recent demonstrations of conformally coated energy selective contacts for this material system offer a promising solution to the issue of surface state passivation. This project contains simulation, fabrication, and characterization elements, although it can be adjusted to match student interest.