MRI: Acquisition of a Standardized Integrated Toolset for Photovoltaics Fabrication and Characterization

这个核磁共振成像项目有两个主要目标。首先是提高生产低成本、高效率太阳能电池技术的知识，这种技术可以在对环境影响最小的情况下生产可再生能源。这种装置将光转化为电，是为人类未来提供清洁能源的最有前途的解决方案。第二是培训下一代科学和工程专家，使他们能够在公共服务和私营部门工作。波莫纳学院和哈维马德学院将获得并维护一套用于光伏研究的综合工具。这将使克莱蒙特学院的一组教职员工和学生研究人员能够有效地制造和测试下一代太阳能电池。三位首席教员都有长期的、富有成效的研究项目，在光伏研究的相互关联的领域中，有高影响力的期刊文章和技术报告。该项目将加强他们在当地和外部的合作，并加快他们的学习。哈维·穆德和波莫纳在美国大学中的毕业生比例很高，他们后来获得了科学和工程专业的研究生学位，其中包括许多来自代表性不足的群体。例如，在过去的5年里，国际学生联合会70%以上的研究生来自STEM中代表性不足的群体。每一名调查员都在积极开发与K-12学生的社区外展项目。新太阳能电池技术的效率正在接近传统太阳能电池的效率。虽然传统电池的成本已经大幅下降，但玻璃板上的高温真空工艺本身就比新太阳能电池中常见的印刷工艺更昂贵。在与现有太阳能电池技术竞争中，新太阳能电池有三个关键领域：效率、成本和寿命。因此，电池寿命和失效机制是当前研究的主要焦点。这类研究将通过购置和安装一套用于光伏研究的综合工具来推动。Hudgings教授和Tanenbaum教授对各种类型的太阳能电池的缺陷和退化进行了研究，包括使用电学测量的有机太阳能电池、空间分辨率光学探测技术，以及在屋顶太阳能跟踪平台上的灯和真实太阳照明下的寿命研究。Tanenbaum博士现在正在制作和表征钙钛矿太阳能电池，包括那些用介孔模板制成的电池，类似于染料敏化的太阳能电池。Van Ryswyk博士专注于优化染料敏化和基于量子点的反向体相异质结电池的吸收和电荷提取技术。虽然每个研究小组都有独立的项目，但他们会召开联席会议，讨论他们的研究问题、方法和结果。克莱蒙特学院在成功的研究合作和共享设施方面有着悠久的历史，例如所有五所学院的研究人员都使用了共享的显微镜设备，包括这些PI和其他150多人，其中大部分是高级本科生。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This MRI project has two main aims. The first is to advance knowledge toward the production of low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell technologies that can produce renewable energy with minimal environmental impact. Such devices convert light into electricity and are the most promising solution for providing clean energy for the future of humanity. The second is to enable training of the next generation of science and engineering experts for careers in public service and private industry. Pomona and Harvey Mudd Colleges will obtain and maintain an integrated tool set for photovoltaic research. This will enable a team of faculty and student researchers at the Claremont Colleges to efficiently build and test next-generation solar cells. The three lead faculty each have long-standing, productive research programs with high-impact journal articles and technical reports in interlocking areas of photovoltaic research. This project will enhance their local and external collaborations and accelerate their studies. Harvey Mudd and Pomona rank highly among U.S. colleges in their proportion of graduates who later earn graduate degrees in science and engineering, including many from underrepresented groups. For example, more than 70% of the PI's research students in the past 5 years have been students from underrepresented groups in STEM. Each investigator is actively developing community outreach programs with K-12 students. Efficiency of new solar cell technologies is approaching that of conventional solar cells. While the cost of conventional cells has fallen sharply, high temperature vacuum processes on glass plates are inherently more expensive than printing processes typical in new solar cells. In competing with existing solar cell technologies there are three key areas for new solar cells: efficiency, cost, and lifetime. Cell lifetime and failure mechanisms are accordingly a major focus of ongoing research. Such studies will be advanced by the acquisition and installation of a integrated tool set for photovoltaic research. Professors Hudgings and Tanenbaum conduct research on defects and degradation in various types of solar cells, including organic solar cells using electrical measurements, spatially resolved optical probing techniques, and lifetime studies both under lamps and true solar illumination on a rooftop solar tracking platform. Dr. Tanenbaum is now fabricating and characterizing perovskite solar cells including those made with mesoporous templates, similar to dye-sensitized solar cells. Dr. Van Ryswyk focuses on optimizing absorption and charge extraction techniques in dye-sensitized and quantum dot-based inverted bulk heterojunction cells. While each research group has independent projects, they hold joint meetings to discuss their research problems, methods, and results. The Claremont Colleges have a long history of successful research collaboration and shared facilities, such as a shared microscopy facility used by researchers across all five colleges, including these PIs and more than 150 others, mostly advanced undergraduates.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.