Speaker: Feng Yan, Assistant Professor with the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
Title: Highly Efficient Thin Film Photovoltaics for Solar Energy Harvest and Conversion
Abstract: Solar Energy is one of the most abundant renewable energy on the earth. Photovoltaic (PV) devices, commonly known as solar cells, can directly convert solar energy into electrical energy. Thin film solar cells technology represents a low-cost and high-efficiency approach to realize sustainable solar electricity generation. To date, most of the single-junction solar cell technologies are far from the theoretical power conversion efficiency defined by Shockley Queisser Efficiency Limit (SQ limit). Such efficiency losses come from the material’s electronic and photonic defects, interfaces and grain boundaries carrier recommendation, and device architecture imperfection. In addition, the cost of upscale manufacturing of the solar cells will also block the solar energy application. Thus, it is in high demand to minimize this efficiency loss and explore cost-effective materials through systematic materials and device engineering in solar cells. This seminar discusses the strategies and approaches to improve the efficiency, stability, and cost-effectiveness of chalcogenides (e.g., CdTe and Sb2Se3) and perovskite (e.g, MAPbI3) thin film solar cells. The technical pathway for future efficiency improvement and large-scale manufacturing will be outlooked.
Bio: Dr. Feng Yan joined The University of Alabama as an assistant professor in the department of metallurgical and materials engineering in August 2017. Before joining UA, he worked as a senior development engineer at the advanced research department of First Solar, Inc, Perrysburg, (Ohio, US), focusing on high-efficiency CdTe thin film solar cells research. Dr. Yan earned his Ph.D. degree in Materials Science from the National University of Singapore in 2011. After that, he received his postdoctoral training at Northwestern University and Harvard University from 2011 to 2014. Dr. Yan’s research interest is to explore the structure-propertiesprocessing relationships in advanced functional thin film electronic and photonic materials and devices. Specifically, he is focusing on multifunctional thin films and electronic devices for energy conversion applications, including thin film ferroelectrics and photovoltaics. His research employs materials science and devices engineering to discover and fabricate new materials for next-generation energy conversion technologies and utilizes device physics to develop electronic devices for multifunctional applications. His research at The University of Alabama was sponsored by NSF, DOE, NASA, USDA. and ORAU. Dr. Yan is a 2020 NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Awardee and 2018 ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awardee. He has published more than 70 peer-reviewed papers, including Nature Energy, Nature Communications, ACS Nano, etc.Dr. Yan is a member of the Materials Research Society, IEEE, and TMS.