Events

Physics Seminar: Review of Prototype Intermediate-Band Solar Cells

Applied Physics
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
 
For NYU Community

Michael Y. Levy

NSF International Research Fellow, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid

This seminar concerns the intermediate-band solar cell, which is a proposed approach to exceed the conversion efficiency of single pn junction solar cells. The lecture is relevant to students studying Physics, Electrical Engineering, and Material Science.

Seminar Outline

  • Context
    • Solar Energy Conversion
    • Intermediate-Band Solar Cell
  • Theoretical Design Issues
  • Experimental Prototypes
    • Major achievements

About the Speaker

Michael Y. Levy was born in New York in 1975. He received the dual B.S. degrees in electrical engineering and physics from Portland State University, Portland, OR, in 2001, and the M.S. and Ph. D degrees in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, in 2004 and 2008, respectively. His thesis focuses on photovoltaic absorbing media with an intermediate band of electronic states. Currently, he is a U.S. National Science Foundation International Research Fellow being hosted at the Instituto de Energia Solar, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid. His current research focuses on experimental characterization techniques including luminescent spectroscopy and deep-level transient spectroscopy. Michael is the first author of five peer-reviewed journal publications spanning topics in electrical engineering, applied physics, and physics.

Image Caption: Reduced Band Diagram of intermediate-band solar cell. Quasi-Fermi levels and chemical-potential differences are shown.