As global energy consumption continually increases, the importance of utilizing sources of renewable energy follows. Solar energy has a strong appeal due to its potential to meet the energy needs of the world many times over without, as is the case for fossil fuels, having a detrimental impact on the environment. A new method of converting light into energy, known as the Plasmoelectric effect, has recently been discovered and is largely unexplored. The potential generated from this process is heavily dependent on the morphology of metal nanoparticles and aggregation of collections of these particles, due to the effect that these properties have on spectral lineshapes for the system. My research focuses on theoretically and computationally designing spectrally-tunable thermally-active meta-materials for use with the Plasmoelectric effect. These systems will be designed to exploit optical Fano interferences to boost the Plasmoelectric potential and to determine what classes of meta-materials will be experimentally viable.
Advisor: Masiello
Product of Lasting Value- Signage for Lab