Halide Perovskites: Structural Diversity and Opportunities for Semiconductor Design and Fabrication

 

Although known for more than a century, organic-inorganic hybrid and related inorganic halide-based perovskites have received extraordinary attention recently, because of the unique physical properties of the lead(II)-based systems, which make them outstanding candidates for application in photovoltaic (PV) and related electronic devices. Despite the high levels of device performance, incorporation of the heavy metal lead, coupled with issues of device stability and electrical hysteresis pose challenges for commercializing these exciting technologies. This talk will explore beyond the current focus on three-dimensional (3-D) lead(II) halide perovskites (e.g., CH3NH3PbI3), to highlight the great chemical flexibility and outstanding potential (and challenges) of the broader 3-D and lower-dimensional perovskite family. As part of the discussion, the prospects for replacing lead with other metals, the importance of structural dimensionality for determining semiconducting character, along with the promise for both inorganic and organic structural components to play an active role in determining the overall hybrid semiconducting character, will be emphasized. Beyond structural flexibility, the talk will further discuss how chemical flexibility leads to an unusually large range of processing options for preparing high-performance perovskite films. Outstanding functionality combined with versatile/facile processing provide two pillars for future application and study of this materials family.   

 

Biography:

Dr. David Mitzi received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Engineering Physics from Princeton University in 1985 and his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University in 1990.  Prior to joining the faculty at Duke in 2014, Dr. Mitzi spent 23 years at IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center, where his focus was on the search for and application of new electronic materials, including organic-inorganic hybrids and inorganic materials for photovoltaic, LED, transistor and memory applications.  For his final five years at IBM, he served as manager for the Photovoltaic Science and Technology Department, where he initiated and managed a multi-company program to develop a low-cost, high-throughput approach to deposit thin-film chalcogenide-based absorber layers for high-efficiency solar cells. Dr. Mitzi’s current research interests involve making emerging photovoltaic materials more effective, cost-efficient and competitive for the energy market. He holds a number of patents, and has authored or coauthored more than 200 papers and book chapters.