Electron transport (and its failure) in energy materials

高效的光伏发电技术可以从根本上加速向低碳能源的过渡。其中一个高效率的概念是中间带光伏（IBPV），它可以通过采用纯半导体并添加新元素来制造能够吸收更多太阳光谱的新材料。为了找到最好的新材料，我们必须了解有多少吸收的能量在一个称为非辐射复合的过程中损失为热量。在IB材料中描述这些过程的工具还不存在。我们将开发预测候选材料中非辐射复合的方法。我们将结合联合收割机这些结果与功能器件的模拟，以产生一个路线图的材料性能，必须实现高效率IBPV。

Highly efficient photovoltaics could radically accelerate the transition to low-carbon electricity sources. One such high-efficiency concept is the intermediate band photovoltaic (IBPV), which can be made by taking pure semiconductors and adding new elements to create new materials able to absorb more of the solar spectrum. To find the best new materials, we must understand how much of that absorbed energy is lost to heat in a process called nonradiative recombination. The tools to describe these processes in IB materials do not yet exist. We will develop methods to predict nonradiative recombination in candidate materials. We will combine these results with simulations of functional devices in order to produce a roadmap for material properties that must be achieved to make high efficiency IBPV.