Emelie Zhu

Solar cells, also known as photovoltaics, are key to a sustainable way to power our future using the renewable resource we have in abundance: the Sun. Commercial solar cells currently popular for use on the roofs of our homes only use a small amount of the solar energy available. This is because commercial solar cells can only make use of a limited range of the spectrum of light that the sun produces and supplies our solar system with.  
My work on tandem junction nanowire solar cells will extend the range of light that can be used, giving more energy output for the same solar input to reach high efficiency. 

Another aspect in particular is the need for powering space applications such as satellites. They need maximal power output while minimizing weight and maximising the endurance of the whole satellite. Nanowires uses significantly less of our scarce resources on Earth to produce and has different properties compared to conventional planar III-V semiconductor materials that we can utilize. 

My research will contribute to the EIC funded ZEUS project - Zero-loss Energy harvesting Using nanowire solar cells in Space. It will involve work with epitaxial growth, processing and characterisation of said III-V nanowire solar cells.