Presented by: Professor Sean Shaheen

Abstract: Photovoltaic cells have taken enormous strides recently toward becoming a viable, if not vital, source of renewable energy for our planet. They advantage of photon-electron interactions in semiconductors to generate power that we can use in our everyday lives. Existing cells with solar-to-electric power conversion efficiencies of around 20% are based on silicon and are decreasing in cost rapidly. New cells based on organic and hybrid materials are being developed that have the potential to further decrease costs while increasing the efficiency to 30+%. In this talk I will explain the physics of their operation and provide some intuition as to just how powerful this science can be!

The Department of Physics proudly presents the Saturday Physics Series, lectures geared toward high school students and adults to highlight the exciting research and practical potential of physics. 

All lectures are free and open to the public and located in Duane Physical Laboratories, room G1B30. Cookies and lemonade will be available after the lecture and talkback.