One aim of the group Emerging Materials is to develop novel materials for sustainable energy production from solar cells. Interestingly, materials that are suited for one type of optoelectronic application, i.e. solar cells, are frequently well-suited for other applications as well. Accordingly, we focus on light-emitting applications (LEDs) or detectors for photons and ionizing irradiation.
Currently, we are working on all-inorganic perovskite solar cells in order to replace the volatile organics. At the same time, we are optimizing large band gap perovskites to reduce the photovoltage losses. In addition to that, various interfacial layers are being investigated in order to improve the performance and stability of perovskite solar cells in ambient conditions.
Apart from the solar cell applications, we are also heavily investigating perovskite materials in the field of photodetectors and scintillators. In our labs, we are actively growing perovskite single crystals by different solution based methods. These single crystals are being further employed to understand the charge diffusion kinetics within them.
All these materials for particular photovoltaic applications are being characterized by advance equipment available in our institute. Highly versatile LED based solar simulator helps us to simulate the sun spectrum in order to obtain the photo-conversion efficiencies of our perovskite solar cells. Furthermore, we own an efficient impedance spectrometer for the detailed investigation of charge transport and recombination mechanisms within the perovskite photovoltaics.
For scintillation studies, currently a setup is under construction where we will determine the light yield and other scintillation parameters using different radiation sources. For the synthesis of perovskite materials, our labs are equipped with modern gloveboxes, programmable heating plates and ultra-high vacuum chambers for evaporation.
Contact
Michael Saliba
Prof. Dr.Institute Director and Chair