Novel Photonic Crystals and Semiconductor NanoCrystals for Enhanced Photovoltaics

人类面临的最大的21世纪世纪挑战之一是满足全球能源需求的巨大增长，从目前的约15 TW到2050年的约30 TW和到2100年的约50 TW，同时开发可持续的、环境相容的和经济上可行的资源，这些资源显著开始改变目前全球对石油、煤炭和天然气的主要能源依赖（80%）。太阳能是一种引人注目的替代能源，可以大大有助于应对这一挑战。加拿大已开始采用奖励措施部署光伏太阳能系统，以鼓励工业界和消费者。然而，要使太阳能发电成为无处不在的一次能源，它需要超越无激励的电网平价。 该研究计划的长期目标是研究和开发新型光电材料集成，以增强光伏器件和提高太阳能的利用率。短期目标是研究两个互补的研究领域：一是使用一类新型的导电光子晶体进行最佳太阳光谱分裂，二是使用大量无毒的IV族半导体纳米晶体来实现量子限制带工程，以实现太阳光谱的最佳吸收，这两个领域都可以增强光伏。 首先，利用我们小组最近报道的新型选择性透明导电光子晶体（STCPC），“光子晶体光伏”研究项目的目标是发现具有增强光学特性的先进STCPC结构，并将STCPC有效地集成到光伏器件中。第二，使用可获得的经济的纳米晶体（NC）的合成技术，“第四组n-PV”的研究项目的目标是调查参数控制的Si，Ge和C NC薄膜中的电荷传输，并合成单结和多结光伏器件设计利用整个太阳光谱。 这项工作的实际影响是促进下一代光伏和太阳能系统的经济发展，从而推动加拿大的太阳能产业。

One of the greatest 21st century challenges facing mankind is meeting the enormous increases in global energy demand, from ~15 TW currently to ~30 TW by 2050 and ~50 TW by 2100, while concurrently developing sustainable, environmentally compatible, and economically viable sources that significantly begin to shift the current global primary energy dependence (80%) on oil, coal and natural gas. A compelling alternative that can contribute considerably to addressing this challenge is solar energy. Canada has begun to deploy photovoltaic (PV) solar systems using incentives to encourage industry and consumers alike. However, for solar electricity to become a ubiquitous primary energy source, it needs to surpass grid-parity - free of incentives. The long-term objective of this research program is to investigate and develop novel optoelectronic material integrations amenable to enhanced photovoltaic devices and improved utilization of solar energy. Short-term objectives are to investigate two complementary fields of research: one, using a novel class of conducting photonic crystals for optimal solar spectrum splitting, and two, using abundant non-toxic group IV semiconductor nanocrystals to effect quantum confined band engineering for optimal absorption of the solar spectrum, both leading to enhanced PV. First, using the novel selectively transparent and conducting photonic crystal (STCPC) recently reported by our group, the objectives of the 'photonic crystal PV' research project are to discover advanced STCPC structures with enhanced optical properties, and to effectively integrate STCPCs into PV devices. Second, using accessible economic synthesis techniques for nanocrystals (NC), the objectives of the 'group IV nanocrystal - PV' research project are to investigate parameters governing charge transport in Si, Ge, and C NC films, and to synthesize single and multi-junction PV devices designed to utilize the entire solar spectrum. The practical impact of this work is to contribute towards the economic development of next generation photovoltaic and solar energy systems, thus advancing the solar industry in Canada.