Every spring, the ECE 443 LEDs and Solar Cells course enables students to address a grand societal challenge by applying what they’ve learned to create a project. The class explores energy conversion devices to enable energy-efficient and scalable light emitting diodes and solar cells as solutions to the grand challenges in energy, communication, and health.
Written by Megan Altmyer
Innovative solar technologies with the potential to improve lives and accelerate the clean energy transition earned top recognition in this year's ECE 443 LEDs and Solar Cells course. Each spring, this course enables students to address a grand societal challenge by applying what they’ve learned to create a project. The class explores energy conversion devices to enable energy-efficient and scalable light emitting diodes and solar cells as solutions to the grand challenges in energy, communication, and health.
Photo Credit: Can Bayram
Cynthia Nolan (left) received the Crosslight Best Project Award. Robert Zhu (right) received the MicroLink Devices Best Project Award.
With support from MicroLink Devices and Crosslight, the class competed in two distinct project competitions: MicroLink Devices Best Project Award and the Crosslight Best Project Award.
"Our company sponsors [MicroLink and Crosslight] enable the class to compete in solving a major challenge, providing students with a unique opportunity" comments Professor Can Bayram, Course Director and Intel Alumni Endowed Faculty Scholar.
This year, the MicroLink Devices Best Project Award went to ECE senior Robert Zhu for "Perovskite on Silicon Tandem Solar Cell: High Efficiency, Low Cost."
Zhu's project confronts the theoretical efficiency limitations of traditional solar energy by design a highly optimized perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cell. The computational study proves that monolithic integration of a wide-bandgap perovskite top layer with a conventional crystalline silicon base can radically increase total energy output while maintaining the low manufacturing costs required for global renewable energy scalability.
The Crosslight Best Project Award went to Physics junior Cynthia Nolan for "Structure Optimization and Efficiency Analysis of Tin-Based Perovskites in the Biologically Transparent NIR Window."
Nolan’s computational research establishes a breakthrough device architecture for lead-free, tin-based perovskite solar cells engineered specifically for biomedical applications. By optimizing the semiconductor array to absorb near-infrared light penetrating through human tissue, the project demonstrates that an ultra-thin, flexible implant measuring under one square centimeter can safely and affordably power a subcutaneous cardiac pacemaker indefinitely.