Colloquium 150

Title: Theoretical Study of New Silicon Phases with Exceptional Optoelectronic Properties

Speaker: Bing Huang, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Location: Room 111, Physics Building

Time: 13:00-14:30, Thu, May 22 2014

Abstract:
Silicon is an extremely important electronic material in technological fields, but it is not a good optoelectronic material. In the last few decades, researchers have heavily studied the structural and electronic properties of silicon in order to improve its optical absorption in the visible light range using analyses of metastable silicon phases, silicon-based alloys, and silicon-based superlattices. In this talk, I will present our recent theoretical efforts on searching and designing new silicon phases, from bulk to two-dimensional (2D) silicon, with exceptional optoelectronic properties.  Especially, we find that chemically functionalized 2D silicon could be the best candidates to create efficient thin-film solar absorbers and silicon-based, white-light-emitting diodes, paving the way for new “green” energy applications.