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Prof wins grant for nanostructured solar cell research
4:06 p.m., March 16, 2007--Gabriela Stoleru, UD assistant professor of materials science and engineering, has received a grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) to research nanostructured solar cells. The grant, $449,223 over a three-year period, allows Stoleru, Christiana Honsberg, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, and their collaborator, Andrew G. Norman of the National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL) in Golden, Colo., to combine their unique expertises to theoretically and experimentally investigate the excitation, recombination and transport properties on which advanced-concept nanostructured solar cells rely. Stoleru said she was eligible to apply for the grant because UD is a member of the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), a program started by the National Science Foundation in 1979 to develop a more equitable distribution of federal research and development funds. DOE's solicitation for proposals was for establishment of partnerships between EPSCoR state universities and DOE national laboratories. Stoleru and Honsberg were invited to submit a full application for the grant in 2005 and were notified about the award in December. ”The University of Delaware has well-established, internationally recognized programs in photovoltaics, such as the Institute for Energy Conversion, a DOE and NREL Center of Excellence for Photovoltaic Research and Education, and the High Efficiency Solar Cell Program, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). I am confident that having such recognition helped our application stand out,” Stoleru said. The grant will allow graduate student Anup Pancholi and postdoctoral researcher Yuanchang Zhang, from Stoleru's group, to work with Norman at NREL for up to three months per year, and will allow for mutual visits between the researchers from Delaware and Colorado. At UD, Stoleru and her team will work on the fabrication and characterization of semiconductor nanostructures such as quantum dots, for optoelectronics and photovoltaics. These quantum dots are fabricated by using atomic-by-atomic layer deposition via molecular beam epitaxy. “We hope that by exploiting the unique electronic and optical properties of the nanostructures and the ability to tailor these properties via band-structure engineering will allow us to improve the performances of devices such as quantum-dot based lasers, infrared detectors, and, in this research program, new-generation nanostructured solar cells” Stoleru said. While generalized calculations have predicted high- efficiency values for nanostructured solar cells, substantial theoretical and practical challenges exist in their implementation, Stoleru said, adding that her research addresses theoretical and experimental unknowns regarding key physical mechanisms in nanostructured solar cells, which, at this time, hinder the practical development of such devices. Article by Julia Parmley, AS '07 |
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