Design and fabrication of innovative materials and devices for light harvesting.
Third Generation Solar Cells:
Fabrication of high efficiency photovoltaic cells made of:
1) hetero- and nano-structures based on III-V semiconductors, such as nano-islands and dense vertical arrays of nanowires grown by self-assembly processes and selective area epitaxy. The 1D structure allows a more efficient light harvesting due both to the increased optical absorption related to the nanowire band structure and to the light trapping among the wires. Additionally the transport and collection of photogenerated carriers inside the core results greatly increased. Activity funded by Project Phashyn - Reti di Laboratori – Regione Puglia: III generation photovoltaic based on nanowires;
2) epitaxial hetero-structures (van der Waals epitaxy) of 2-dimensional (‘layered’) materials, such as graphene and graphene-like materials (TMDC and hexagonal boron nitride, h-BN) in collaboration with University of Salento.
Nano-Rectenna for high Efficiency Direct Conversion of Sunlight to Electricity.
The activity is focussed on the design and the fabrication of an innovative device to directly convert solar energy into electrical power based on optical rectified nano-rectenna. Activity in collaboration with University of Salento (Lecce) and NANOTEC-CNR (Lecce).
Advanced Electro-Optical investigation.
Advanced investigation of the electro-optical properties of micro/nanostructured materials and devices in order to correlate their electronic and optical properties (optical absorption, light trapping, etc) to the devices conversion efficiency. The core activity is focused both on the investigation of the main photo-excited carriers relaxation mechanisms through the energy levels and the determination of their time constants, and on the study of electron/hole transport in new nanostructured materials and devices. Activity funded by the projects: SOLAR, Nanofluids for solar thermodynamic energy conversion; PED4PV, II generation photovoltaic based on CIGS thin films; MAAT, III generation photovoltaic based on organic solar cells; INNOVASOL, III generation Photovoltaic based on CdTe nanowires.
Second-generation Solar Cells
External quantum efficiency (EQE) with monochromatic optical bias and time-resolved photoluminescence at 10K on CuInGaSe2 (CIGS) thin film solar cell grown by low-temperature Pulsed Electron Deposition (PED). Activity in collaboration with IMEM-CNR, Parma.
Third-generation Solar Cells
External quantum efficiency (EQE) with broad band infrared optical bias, at different temperature, on InAs/GaAs QD- Intermediate Band Solar Cell (IBSC).
Photo-reflectance (ΔR/R) at room temperature on InAlGaAs/AlGaAs QD-IBSC.
Attivity in collaboration with NANOTEC-CNR, Lecce.
Nano-fluids for applications in Thermodynamic Solar Power Plants: Investigation of optical properties of metal oxide nanoparticles at high temperature (500°C) for air-based nanofluids systems application (in the frame of SOLAR PON Project).