Monday 30 June 2014 2:30pm to 3:30pm
Small Lecture Theatre, Cavendish Laboratory
About
Abstract: The remarkable advances over the past few years in performance of photovoltaic cells, including the advent of new absorber materials, allow us to take stock of how well we understand PV and if we can at all predict future progress. Apart from Si and InP, for all cell types the “best efficiencies” improved, while crystalline Si modules showed major cost reduction. New cell types, such as "sustainable CIGS-like", “perovskite” and quantum dot ones, appeared on the scene. Developments tested and nearly reached the Shockley-Queisser limit. The order --> increased efficiency criterion gained credibility from results on organic and esp. perovskite cells. On top of this we seem to be finding new (or re-new-ed) science!
David Cahen studied chemistry & physics at the Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem (HUJ), Materials Research and Phys. Chem. at Northwestern Univ, and biophysics of photosynthesis (postdoc) at HUJ and the Weizmann Institute of Science, WIS. After joining the WIS faculty he focussed on alternative sustainable energy resources, in particular various types of solar cells. In parallel he researches hybrid molecular/non-molecular systems, focusing on understanding and controlling electronic transport across (bio)molecules. He heads WIS' Alternative, sustainable energy research initiative.
Link to Professor Cahen's research home page