Upcoming Colloquia
Center for Advanced Solar Photophysics: Overview of Research Thrusts
Victor Klimov
Softmatter Nanotechnology and Advanced Spectroscopy,
Chemistry Division
Los Alamos National Laboratory,
Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
Monday, February 8, 10am
Chemistry Division Auditorium, TA-46, Bld. 535, Rm. 103
Abstract
Center for Advanced Solar Photophysics (CASP) is part of the recent DOE initiative in Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) launched in August of 2009. The goal of CASP is to explore and exploit the unique physics of nanostructured materials to boost the efficiency of solar energy conversion through novel light-matter interactions, controlled excited state dynamics, and engineered carrier-carrier coupling. The research of our Center concentrates in three main thrust areas: i) novel nanoscale physical phenomena for efficient capture and conversion of light into electrical charges via quantum confinement, plasmonic and photonic effects, ii) new means for charge manipulation in nano-assemblies for rapid charge extraction and low-loss transport, and iii) proof-of-principle solar-energy conversion schemes that exploit the emergent physics of the nanoscale size regime. In this lecture, I will overview the current research directions in the Center as well as our plans for future research.