highEQE

Research Highlight: Promise and Outlook of Atomically-thin Photovoltaics

Van der Waals materials are a class of materials with naturally passivated surfaces that enable the fabrication of high-quality atomically-thin structures. In this paper, we argue that van der Waals materials are excellent candidates for high efficiency photovoltaics because of their high optoelectronic quality (i.e. their photoluminescence quantum yield can approach unity) and strong light-matter interactions (i.e. their absorption coefficients are about an order of magnitude higher than many traditional semiconductors used for photovoltaics). Moreover, their bandgaps are optimal for solar-energy harvesting as a single junction (bulk) or as a tandem with Silicon (monolayer). Altogether, van der Waals materials have an untapped potential for high efficiency photovoltaics. For more details on this work, check out the paper published in ACS Photonics.


About Me

Hi there! I'm Joeson (pronounced like jo-sin).

I am currently a third year Applied Physics graduate student in Professor Harry Atwater's group at Caltech, with support from the NSF graduate fellowship. My research interests are quite broad, but I'm currently focused on the photonics and condensed matter physics of van der Waals (also known as "2D"!) materials and their heterostructures. Specifically, with applications to photovoltaics. Previously, I studied Electrical Engineering and Physics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and spent a couple summers doing research at UC Berkeley and Stanford.

In my free time, I'm either looking for the best food or trying to make the best food :)

selfie