David C. Coffey - Postdoc
David Coffey received his Ph.D. degree in Physics at the University of Washington, Seattle, under the guidance of Prof. David Ginger in the Department of Chemistry. Within the broad field of organic photovoltaics, there exist several promising types of organic solar cells that rely on precise mixing of materials at nanometer-length scales (such as bulk heterojunction solar cells). Gaining control of, and insight about, these materials at such fine resolutions, however, is challenging with traditional techniques. To address this difficulty, while in Seattle, Dr. Coffey focused on adapting scanning-probe microscopy (SPM) to the field of organic electronics. First, he used SPM to modify local substrate surface chemistry and induce high-resolution self-assembly of photovoltaic films. Second, he developed several SPM techniques to probe how photovoltaic performance and optoelectronic properties correlate with nanoscale morphology.
Upon graduation, Dr. Coffey joined a startup company (Nano-Terra, Inc.) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he expanded his research interests in surface engineering and the commercialization of organic electronics. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher under Dr. Garry Rumbles, where he is part of a group studying fundamental electrical properties in organic photovoltaic materials.
Education and Experience
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December 2008–current, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
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2007–2008, Senior Scientist at Nano-Terra, Inc.
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2001–2007, Ph.D in Physics, University of Washington (Dissertation Title: Characterizing the Local Optoelectronic Performance of Organic Solar Cells with Scanning-Probe Microscopy)
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1997–2001, B.S. in Physics and BS in Mathematics, University of the South (Sewanee).
Selected Publications
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Coffey, D.C. et al., “Mapping Local Photocurrents in Polymer/Fullerene Solar Cells with Photoconductive Atomic Force Microscopy,” Nano Letters 7 (3), 738-744 (2007).
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Coffey, D.C.; Ginger, D.S., “Time-resolved electrostatic force microscopy of polymer solar cells,” Nature Materials 5, 735-740 (2006).
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Coffey, D.C.; Ginger, D.S., “Patterning Phase separation in Polymer Films with Dip-Pen Nanolithography,” Journal of the American Chemical Society 127 (13), 4564 (2005).
NREL Publications
View NREL publications for this staff member.
Other Team Members
David C. Coffey |
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