CAREER: Study and Control of the Optoelectronic Properties of Ternary Semiconductor Nanomaterials

在这个由化学部实验物理化学计划资助的职业项目中，Burda将使用纳米粒子合成和化学计量学建模、激光光谱分析对光电特性的详细表征以及器件制造和特定应用的效率测量来研究三元半导体纳米点。纳米粒子的制备是基于两类不同的材料，即铜(In，Ga)(S，硒，碲)2和钛(2-x)N(X)类型的化合物。表征技术包括高分辨率透射显微镜(EDS和EELS)和纳秒到飞秒的光谱测量。最后，研究人员将使用本研究中合成的两种类型的纳米颗粒来制造光伏器件。该项目的教育活动包括参与“数学与科学伙伴关系”(MSP)本地高中教师外展计划、美国宇航局格伦研究中心的教育工作坊计划，以及合作外展项目。本科生和当地高中的学生将能够参与PI的实验室的研究体验。为本科生开设的一门以纳米材料为主题的新课程将向来自不同科学背景(工程师、化学家和物理学家)的学生介绍纳米科学交叉学科领域的发展。了解和控制三元半导体纳米材料的光电性质对于制备光伏太阳能电池和激光器以及基于半导体的光催化等许多重要的技术应用具有重要的意义。外联活动影响到从K-12年级到博士后培训的教育，以及从地方到国家舞台的教育。

In this CAREER project funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Burda will study ternary semiconductor nanodots using nanoparticle synthesis and chemometric modeling, detailed characterization of optoelectronic properties by laser spectroscopy, and device fabrication and application-specific efficiency measurements. The fabrication of nanoparticles is based on two different families of materials, namely compounds of the type Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se,Te)2 and TiO(2-x)N(x). Characterization techniques include high-resolution transmission microscopy (EDS and EELS) and nanosecond-to-femtosecond spectroscopic measurements. In the end the investigator will fabricate photovoltaic devices using nanoparticles of the two types synthesized in this research. The educational activities of this project include involvement in the "Math and Science Partnership" (MSP) Outreach Program for Local High School Teachers, educational workshop programs of the NASA Glenn Research Center, and collaborative outreach projects. Undergraduate students and students from the local high school will be able to participate in the research experience of the PI's laboratory. A new course for undergraduates on the topic of nanomaterials will introduce students from different scientific backgrounds (engineers, chemists and physicists) to developments in the interdisciplinary field of nanoscience. Understanding and controlling the optoelectronic properties of ternary semiconductor nanomaterials is of great interest to many important technological applications, such as fabrication of photovoltaic solar cells and lasers as well as semiconductor-based photocatalysis. The outreach activities impact education from grades K-12 through postdoctoral training and from local to national arenas.