Novel Photonic Crystals and Semiconductor NanoCrystals for Enhanced Photovoltaics

21世纪人类面临的最大挑战之一是满足全球能源需求的巨大增长，从目前的~15TW增加到2050年的~30TW，到2100年达到~50TW，同时开发可持续、环境兼容和经济可行的能源，开始显著改变目前全球对石油、煤炭和天然气的一次能源依赖(80%)。一个令人信服的替代方案可以为应对这一挑战做出重大贡献，那就是太阳能。加拿大已经开始部署光伏(PV)太阳能系统，采用激励措施来鼓励行业和消费者。然而，要想让太阳能发电成为无处不在的一次能源，它需要在没有激励措施的情况下超过电网平价。 该研究计划的长期目标是研究和开发新型光电子材料集成，以适应增强的光伏器件和提高太阳能的利用。短期目标是研究两个相辅相成的领域：一是利用新型导电光子晶体实现最佳的太阳光谱分裂；二是利用丰富的无毒IV族半导体纳米晶体实施量子限制带工程，以实现对太阳光谱的最佳吸收，两者都会导致增强的光伏。 首先，利用本课题组最近报道的新型选择性透明导电光子晶体(STCPC)，光子晶体PV研究项目的目标是发现具有增强光学性能的先进STCPC结构，并将STCPC有效地集成到光伏器件中。其次，利用可获得的纳米晶体(NC)经济合成技术，第四类纳米晶体-光伏研究项目的目标是研究控制硅、锗和碳纳米晶薄膜中电荷传输的参数，并合成设计用于利用整个太阳光谱的单结和多结光伏器件。 这项工作的实际影响是促进下一代光伏和太阳能系统的经济发展，从而推动加拿大的太阳能产业。

One of the greatest 21st century challenges facing mankind is meeting the enormous increases in global energy demand, from ~15 TW currently to ~30 TW by 2050 and ~50 TW by 2100, while concurrently developing sustainable, environmentally compatible, and economically viable sources that significantly begin to shift the current global primary energy dependence (80%) on oil, coal and natural gas. A compelling alternative that can contribute considerably to addressing this challenge is solar energy. Canada has begun to deploy photovoltaic (PV) solar systems using incentives to encourage industry and consumers alike. However, for solar electricity to become a ubiquitous primary energy source, it needs to surpass grid-parity - free of incentives. The long-term objective of this research program is to investigate and develop novel optoelectronic material integrations amenable to enhanced photovoltaic devices and improved utilization of solar energy. Short-term objectives are to investigate two complementary fields of research: one, using a novel class of conducting photonic crystals for optimal solar spectrum splitting, and two, using abundant non-toxic group IV semiconductor nanocrystals to effect quantum confined band engineering for optimal absorption of the solar spectrum, both leading to enhanced PV. First, using the novel selectively transparent and conducting photonic crystal (STCPC) recently reported by our group, the objectives of the 'photonic crystal PV' research project are to discover advanced STCPC structures with enhanced optical properties, and to effectively integrate STCPCs into PV devices. Second, using accessible economic synthesis techniques for nanocrystals (NC), the objectives of the 'group IV nanocrystal - PV' research project are to investigate parameters governing charge transport in Si, Ge, and C NC films, and to synthesize single and multi-junction PV devices designed to utilize the entire solar spectrum. The practical impact of this work is to contribute towards the economic development of next generation photovoltaic and solar energy systems, thus advancing the solar industry in Canada.