NIRT: Ultra-high efficiency metal nanostructure-enhanced organic solar cells

PI提出了一种新的有机太阳能电池结构，该结构将金属纳米结构天线集成到有机薄膜中。利用金属纳米结构将入射的电磁通量集中在有机供体-受体细胞的活性界面附近，从而提高了吸收和激子扩散效率。此外，高透明的纳米图案金属薄膜将用作多结太阳能电池结构中的触点。这种纳米图案金属薄膜的高横向导电性将允许在多结电池中进行横向光电流提取，从而降低功率转换效率对光谱含量的敏感性。最终，这将导致更高效的电池设计，功率转换效率达到20%。为了制造所需的有机金属纳米结构，他将使用模板和液相合成相结合的方法来制造单分散的金属纳米结构。这些结构随后将使用气溶胶技术沉积，同时对有机分子进行热蒸发。高效（20%）金属纳米结构增强多结光伏电池的演示将代表光伏领域的真正突破。廉价、高效、无污染的光伏电池的出现，将极大地造福社会，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，纳米级有机金属复合结构的研究将有助于阐明纳米金属在光学应用中的基本限制。更广泛的影响所提出的工作将导致在制造纳米尺度特征在大范围内的宝贵见解。PI计划开发的建模工具、表征和制造技术将在纳米科学和工程中有更广泛的应用。此外，他将组织一个关于金属有机纳米复合材料的年度研讨会，建立一个高中指导计划，并让本科生参与研究。这项工作的成果将被纳入斯坦福大学专业发展中心的纳米光子学电视课程。

0507301PeumansThe PI proposes a new organic solar cell architecture that incorporates metal nanostructured antennae into the organic thin films. The metal nanostructures are used to concentrate the incident electromagnetic flux near the active interface of the organic donor-acceptor cells, resulting in increased absorption and exciton diffusion efficiencies. Furthermore, highly transparent nanopatterned metal films will be used as contacts in multijunction solar cell architectures. The high lateral conductivity of such nanopatterned metal films will allow for lateral photocurrent extraction in multijunction cells leading to a reduced sensitivity of the power conversion efficiency to the spectral content. Ultimately, this will lead to more efficient cell designs with power conversion efficiencies 20%. To fabricate the required organic-metal nanostructures, he will use a combination of templated and solution-phase synthesis to create monodisperse metallic nanostructures. These structures will subsequently be deposited using an aerosol technique, simultaneous with thermal evaporation of the organic molecules.Intellectual meritThe demonstration of efficient (20%) metal nanostructure enhanced multijunction PV cells would represent a true breakthrough in the field of photovoltaics. The availability of cheap, highly efficient PV cells, manufactured without significant pollution, will benefit society enormously in terms of reducing the emission of greenhouse gases and pollutants, reducing our dependence on oil reserves, creating new jobs and improving the image of science and engineering. In addition, the work on nanoscale organic-metal composite structures will help elucidate the fundamental limits of nanoscale metals in optical applications.Broader ImpactThe work proposed will lead to invaluable insight in the manufacturing of nanoscale features over large areas. The modeling tools, and characterization and fabrication techniques that the PI plans to develop will have broader applications in nanoscience and engineering. In addition, he will organize a yearly workshop on metal-organic nanocomposites, establish a high-school mentoring program, and involve undergraduate students in the research. The results of the proposed work will be incorporated in the televised course on Nanophotonics that is broadcast through the Stanford Center for Professional Development.