Solid State Theory
Square of the wave function (red) of a hole state in a spherical CdSe colloidal quantum dot (shape in yellow).
The Solid State Theory (SST) Group at NREL was established in 1978 under the direction of Alex Zunger. The group consists of three regular staff plus five to ten postdocs, research associates, and visiting scientists. This group has hosted and trained 65 postdoctoral fellows and published more than 500 papers in refereed journals, including more than 65 in Physical Review Letters and more than 50 in Rapid Communications. We have delivered more than 80 invited talks at major conferences around the world (including 9 at APS March Meetings). The SST Group's main areas of research include, but are not limited to:
- Theory of photovoltaic semiconductors
- Statistical and electronic theory of metal and semiconductor alloys
- Semiconductor nanostructures
- Computational methods in first-principles theories.
Alex Zunger is also director of the Center for Inverse Design (PDF 125 KB), which is an Energy Frontier Research Center of the Office of Basic Energy Sciences. This center focuses on material discovery via an Inverse Band Structure methodology. Download Adobe Reader.
For staff profiles, publications, and contact information, see Solid State Theory Research staff.