Ultrafast Spectroscopy of Novel Semiconductors and Devices

About the Project

Project Description

The School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering (SPREE) is widelyregarded as the one of the leading Photovoltaics research hubs in the world.Building on its world-leading research, the school attracts leading internationalresearchers in the area of photovoltaic, consistently ranked amongst the leadersworldwide in the photovoltaic field through international peer review. It is one ofthe nine schools within the Faculty of Engineering at University of New SouthWales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia and grew out of the Australian Research CouncilPhotovoltaics Centre of Excellence in response to the growing photovoltaic andrenewable energy industry.

This project focuses on the photophysics of novel semiconductors and devices, particularly the interactions between electrons/excitons and phonons/vibrational modes after the absorption of a photon through the use of ultrafast spectroscopy. Since the development of ultrafast pulsed laser technologies, ultrafast optical spectroscopy has become a powerful family of techniques to characterise both bulk semiconductor materials and their interfaces, as well as optoelectronic devices. Ultrafast spectroscopy can be likened to old fashioned strobe photography, albeit at a billion-fold better time resolution, wherein very fast processes/events are monitored by freezing in time a series of frames which when reconstructed give a picture of the electronic dynamics triggered by optical absorption. This family of techniques uses sequential ultrashort light pulses, usually in the femtosecond regime, to study/monitor photoinduced dynamical processes. In addition, the use of nonlinear optics to explore and manipulate interfaces is of great interest. Topics include, but are not limited to:

1. Carrier and vibrational dynamics in perovskites
2. Phonon cavities
3. Second harmonic generation metrology of silicon interfaces
4. Laser induced solar panel recycling

SPREEs Research Activities

UNSW has been responsible for developing the most successfully commercialised new photovoltaic technology internationally. Most of the solar cell technology that dominates the market (in particular the ‘PERC’ design) was invented and developed here. Currently there are a wide range of activities in the school spanning novel processing techniques for improved performance of commercial silicon cells, advanced characterisation techniques, integrating silicon with novel materials for the development of multi-junction solar cells, as well as advanced concepts for totally new approaches to photovoltaic and other energy producing device designs.

Requirements

Undergraduate Degree: Bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry or Materials Science or similar. Overall GPA must be at least 80% or equivalent.

Masters Degree: Priority will be given for those who graduated from a Masters by research program, with a strong materials/chemistry/semiconductor physics emphasis, with a preference for experimental focus. Overall GPA must be at least 80% or equivalent.

Prior research experience is considered key for competitive scholarships for international students.

Please contact Dr Michael P Nielsen (michael.nielsen@unsw.edu.au) for further information or visit the group website https://www.aos-nielsen-group.com/. For your application please also attach the following documents: CV, academic transcript, and your motivation for doctoral studies. Please include how you feel your background potential aligns with the project.

Funding Notes

Suitable students will be awarded a full scholarship for 3.5 years (PhD duration in Australia is typically 3-4 years) via the competitive UNSW RTPi scholarship competition. The scholarship fully covers university fees and provides a stipend tocover living costs (currently ~ AUD $39,206 per year tax free). There is also a conference attendance allowance to support attending a scientific international conference during the PhD. Additional financial support may be available from success in competitive external funding rounds for exceptional candidates. For more information on Scholarships at UNSW, see View Website.

Additional country specific schemes for stipends include opportunities for Indian, Indonesian, Chinese, Vietnamese, German, Austrian, and Chilean students. For domestic Australian students in good standing, fully funded positions are readily available.