Emerging Solution-Processed Thin Film Photovoltaic and Other Thin Film Devices

Thin films and thin film devices have a ubiquitous presence in numerous conventional and emerging technologies. This is because of the recent advances in nanotechnology, the development of functional and smart materials, conducting polymers, molecular semiconductors, carbon nanotubes and graphene, and the employment of unique properties of thin films and ultrathin films, such as high surface area, controlled nanostructure for effective charge transfer, and special physical and chemical properties, to develop new thin film devices such as solar cells, sensors, displays, etc. The thin film devices may consist of organic, inorganic, and composite thin layers, and share similar functionality, properties, and fabrication routes. While this talk focuses on development of thin film solar cells, due to the multidisciplinary nature of thin film devices, knowledge and advances already made in one area may be applicable to other similar areas.

Owing to the importance of developing low-cost, scalable, and vacuum-free fabrication routes, our research focuses on thin film devices that may be processed from solution and deposited using large scale fabrication methods, such as spray coating. Potential and challenges associated with spray coating will be discussed and new ideas and methodologies developed and pursued by the speaker and his team, such as ultrasonic excitation of the wet films and development of new coating devices, will be presented and substantiated by experimental and theoretical evidences.

About the Presenter

Dr. Morteza Eslamian obtained his B.Sc and M.Sc in Mechanical Engineering from Shiraz University and Sharif University of Technology in 1998 and 2000, respectively. He obtained his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto in 2006. Then he worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Departments of Chemical Engineering and Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, at the University of Toronto, as well as Particle Technology Laboratory at ETH Zurich. He also worked at Ryerson University at a Research Associate and Lecturer. He served as an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi from 2011 to 2013, and currently he is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute in Shanghai, China. He is specialized in fluid-thermal sciences as well as advanced materials and thin film devices. His current research focuses on development of novel coating methods and solution-processed thin film devices, such as thin film solar cells, with the long-term goal to commercialize and manufacture such devices in high volume.