Materials Science Program Seminar

Zongfu Yu, UW ECE Dept. Properly designed nano structures can greatly enhance the interaction between light and materials. Such enhancement is critically important in solar energy conversion. I will first give a few examples using nanophotonic structures to improve efficiency in crystalline and amorphous silicon solar cells, as well as water splitting. Then I will discuss some fundamental understanding of photonic enhancement in solar energy conversion, such as light trapping limit 4n2.