CAREER: Multijunction Organic: Inorganic Composite Solar Cells

在这个职业发展计划中，PI概述了他的倡议，以吸引和留住学生进入科学和工程领域，并改善K-12，本科和研究生水平的教学。这些举措与PI在有机光伏方面的研究工作密切相关，其更广泛的社会经济影响吸引了更广泛的学生，更有可能激励那些原本回避工程学的学生。PI致力于指导高中学生，并将在每年夏天聘请一名当地的全职高中教师，旨在将实验室研究的一些兴奋感移植到高中课堂上。他还建议为本科生提供课外项目和暑期研究机会。这些活动可能会刺激学生追求科学和工程方面的职业生涯，实践学习将导致更好的材料吸收和记忆。PI目前正在他的部门进行课程修订。他致力于设计两门有趣的实践性课程，以吸引学生学习电气工程，并为高年级学生提供创造性的设计机会。最后，PI正在共同编写一本有机电子学教科书。在第二部分，PI描述了一项研究计划，该计划专注于开发下一代有机太阳能电池，这种电池可以以低成本的方式以卷对卷的方式生产，同时显示出接近或超过晶体硅电池的效率。这与目前最先进的有机太阳能电池高达5%的效率形成了鲜明对比。为了实现更高的效率，PI建议通过利用有机材料的主要技术优势，将几种材料系统集成到多功能太阳能电池堆中。在这种方法中，具有不同吸收特性的单元通过相邻单元之间的欧姆接触堆叠并串联起来。使用现实的假设，六电池多结电池的可实现效率估计为21.4%，在相同的假设下，单结太阳能电池的最大效率为11.4%，提高了两倍。提出的研究计划依赖于最近开发的核心技术，如使用金属纳米团簇的电池堆叠和有机气相沉积，以实现展示功率转换效率超过10%的多结太阳能电池的目标。为了解决宽光谱覆盖的挑战，有机/低带隙无机半导体纳米晶复合太阳能电池将被研究。此外，多结电池的复杂优化将通过实验校准，预测计算机模型来解决。最后，提出了一种基于有机气相沉积法的新型沉积工具。该工具将用于复合有机/无机纳米颗粒结构的沉积，而不会干扰底层。这种独特的能力将允许实现所提出的多结结构。在未来五年内，在国家科学基金会的资助下，坚定地建立拟议的研究工作，将使PI的研究小组走在有机电子学科的前沿。学院的职业发展计划包括吸引和留住理工科学生的创新举措，这些都反映了学院的个人经历。提出的研究计划为新一代有机太阳能电池和一种新的制造方法提供了明确的案例。该计划是独特的、创新的和及时的，解决了一个重要的科学挑战。PI先前在有机光伏方面的研究成果为执行拟议的研究奠定了坚实的基础。更广泛的影响所提出的高效有机/无机多结太阳能电池的成功演示将代表光伏领域的真正突破。这些太阳能电池价格低廉，效率高，制造过程中不会产生严重污染。这种可再生技术对社会的社会经济效益将是巨大的，它可以减少温室气体和污染物的排放，减少我们对石油储备的依赖，创造新的就业机会，改善科学和工程的形象。此外，这项研究工作可能会吸引更广泛的理工科学生。

In this career development plan, the PI outlines his initiatives to attract and retain students into the sciences and engineering and to improve teaching at the K-12, undergraduate and graduate level. These initiatives are closely tied to the PI's research efforts in organic photovoltaics, the broader socio-economical impact of which attracts a wider range of students and more likely inspires students who would otherwise shy away from engineering.The PI has committed to mentoring high school students and will hire a local full-time high school teacher every summer, aiming at transplanting some of the excitement of laboratory research to the high school classroom. He also proposes to offer extracurricular project and summer research opportunities to undergraduate students. These activities may stimulate students to pursue careers in science and engineering and the hands-on learning will result in better material assimilation and retention. The PI is engaged in curriculum revisions that are currently taking place in his department. He is committed to designing two fun, hands-on courses to attract students to electrical engineering and to offer creative design opportunities to senior students. Finally, the PI is co-writing a textbook on organic electronics.In the second part, the PI describes a research proposal that concentrates on developing a next generation of organic solar cells that can be produced at low-cost in a roll-to-roll fashion while exhibiting efficiencies approaching or exceeding those of crystalline silicon cells. This is in contrast with efficiencies of up to ~5% that characterize the state-of-the-art of the current generation of organic solar cells. To achieve the substantially higher efficiencies, the PI proposes to integrate several material systems into multifunction solar cell stacks by exploiting a major technological advantage of organic materials. In this approach, cells with different absorption characteristics are stacked and connected in series via ohmic contacts between adjacent cells. Using realistic assumptions, the achievable efficiency of a six-cell multijunction cell is estimated at21.4%, a two-fold improvement over the maximum efficiency of a single junction solar cell of 11.4% under the same assumptions.The proposed research program relies on core technologies that were recently developed such as cell stacking using metal nanoclusters and organic vapor phase deposition to realize the objective of demonstrating a multijunction solar cell with a power conversion efficiency exceeding 10%. To address the challenge of wide spectral coverage, organic / low bandgap inorganic semiconductor nanocrystal composite solar cells will be investigated. In addition, the complex optimization of multijunction cells will be addressed by experimentally calibrated, predictive computer models. Finally, a new deposition tool that is based on the organic vapor phase deposition method will be developed. This tool will be used for the deposition of composite organic/inorganic nanoparticle structures without disturbing the underlying layers. This unique capability will allow for the realization of the proposed multijunction structures. Firmly establishing the proposed research effort with the help of NSF funding over the next five years will put the PI's research group on the forefront of the organic electronics discipline.Intellectual MeritThe PI's career development plan includes innovative initiatives to attract and retain students in science and engineering that are reflections of the PI's personal experiences. The proposed research plan makes a clear case for a new generation of organic solar cells and a novel fabrication method. The plan is unique, innovative and timely and addresses an important scientific challenge. The PI's prior research accomplishments in organic photovoltaics form a strong foundation for the execution of the proposed research.Broader ImpactsThe successful demonstration of the proposed efficient organic / inorganic multijunction solar cells would represent a true breakthrough in the field of photovoltaics. These solar cells will be cheap, will exhibit high efficiencies, and will be manufactured without significant pollution. The socio-economical payoffs to society of such a renewable technology would be enormous in terms of reducing the emission of greenhouse gas and pollutants, reducing our dependence on oil reserves, creating new jobs and improving the image of science and engineering. This research effort is furthermore likely to attract a wider spectrum of students to science and engineering.