Understanding charge carrier dynamics in solar cell materials using time resolved terahertz spectroscopy

The need for developing highly efficient solar cell devices have never been so pressing until recently when the urgency of using renewable energy sources becomes more evident. There are several promising technologies being explored by many groups with the sole purpose of optimizing harvesting sunlight and converting it to useful electricity. These include, but not limited to, dye- and quantum dot-sensitized, bulk heterojunction organic, inorganic nanowires, and very recently perovskite-based solar cells. In this talk, charge carrier dynamics of an assortment of solar cell technologies probed using time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy will be presented. Electron injection, mobility, charge carrier lifetime and recombination dynamics will be discussed.