Advanced Photovoltaics

Information related to the PV field in industry can be found at Nanomech in Photovoltaics, a member of Nature Network, a tool from the journal Nature.

General definition:

Photovoltaic

The generation of electronic charges (e.g. electrons) by absorbed photons, followed by separation of those charges to their respective electrical (ohmic) contacts. Fundamental to the design of a photovoltaic device is the application of electric current to do work.

Present and Future

General Statement · Work in Progress
This site is still under development.

Natual Fusion · Solar Decathlon!

The Natural Fusion project at Penn State has been accepted to compete a second time for 2008-2009!

Contact Information if you would like to contact our group for outreach, consulting, or otherwise.

Environmental Technology

When considering the intense demand for resources that drive our economies and support life on the planet, we can define five distinct global reservoirs that all societies require: air, water, soil, sediment (minerals and geo-fuels), and energy. Each of these reservoirs has limited extent, requires recharging and maintenance, and shows interconnectedness at multiple levels. Correspondingly, each of these reserves is being depleted at an unsustainable rate. The increased demand for reservoir access (particularly for water and energy reserves) has placed enormous pressures on government and industries to develop technological advancements that answer the call for sustainable technologies to maintain each of these reservoirs. It is our goal in environmental technology to assess those reservoirs, determining the advanced tools required to maintain each both on a personal and industrial scale. Over the next twenty years and beyond, science education faces challenges from a competitive international workforce, as well as intensive demands on global environmental resources. As countries transition toward renewable energy and clean air-/water-based economies, the playing field for environmental technologies and the science that underscores them changes. Students require a new perspective in energy and materials development to emerge as superior engineers and thinkers: a global awareness in environmental technologies, including materials development for renewable energy systems and maintenance of environmental reserves. Education developed around the core theme of environmental technology is the frontier that will provide our students with job opportunities and a competitive edge in research.

Photovoltaic (PV) Materials and Advanced Devices:

My research addresses disruptive new designs and materials for inorganic PV cells (solar-electricity conversion). The photovoltaics industry has seen a steady growth, and the demand for high purity silicon now outweighs that of the microchip industry. The first and second generations of photovoltaics brought about silicon solar cells and thin film solar devices. Using new materials and cell designs (termed eta-solar cells, for extremely thin absorber), advances in third-generation photovoltaics offer new alternatives for high-efficiency, reduced-cost solar electricity. These cells fulfill the materials sustainability and the long-term stability required in a growing and diversifying PV market. My methods of materials characterization include photoelectrochemical techniques, X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and infrared spectroscopy.

Environmentally sustainable energy solutions:

Global demand for carbon-neutral renewable energy has driven government subsidies for PV in Asia and Europe. From this recent push, PV systems costs have been greatly reduced and the technology has penetrated into the energy market with ~37% average growth over the past 10 years (in terms of peak MW power), which indicates a doubling of the market output every 2.2 years.

There is no better time than now to initiate new materials research for solar energy conversion. At minimum estimates, our global energy demands will double to 28 terawatts (TW=10¹² Watts) by 2050, and the sun is uniquely prepared to offer us that amount of energy in a carbon-neutral form.^1,2 The entire surface of Earth collects ~1.2x10⁵ TW of radiant power, and an estimated 60 TW could be collected from land sites, even considering solar cells with 10% photoconversion efficiency.² Current technologies are producing inexpensive, low conversion efficiency cells. However, we need more growth, faster.

1. Basic Research Needs for Solar Energy Utilization. (2005) U.S. Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Sciences.

2. N. S. Lewis, Chemical Challenges in Renewable Energy. California Institute of Technology, Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.

My efforts include outreach and recruiting for the undergraduate programs of the Department of Energy & Mineral Engineering. Interested candidates (new undergrads, high school students and parents included) should feel free to contact me by email or phone with questions, or to discuss the exciting and diverse undergraduate opportunities within EME.