Junis Rindermann, born on 27th of April 1984 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Junis starts his studies of physics at the University of Hamburg in 2004. From 2006 to 2007 he participates in the Erasmus program and studies at the University of Southampton, GB. As part of his studies there he works on a project on Spin-LEDs, his first contact to the field of optoelectronics. During the summer 2007 Junis works as a research student in the group of Prof. Lagoudakis at the University of Southampton on energy transfer in artificial DNA-dye scaffolds. His work is financed by the research council of the UK. From 2007 until the end of 2008 Junis continues his studies for the diploma at the University of Hamburg and specializes on the physics of nanostructures.
In January 2009 Junis starts working as a postgraduate research student on a project on Hybrid Photovoltaics in the Laboratories for Hybrid Optoelectronics led by Prof. Lagoudakis. During the first year he will work on his diploma thesis for the University of Hamburg and will continue his work as a candidate for the PhD.
Hybrid photovoltaics cover a wide range of photovoltaic devices made from materials other than only inorganic or organic semiconductors: they combine the advantages of organic and inorganic materials like nanocrystals, polymers and dye molecules to overcome limitations of the carrier mobility and carrier separation inherent to the bare constituents. Fabricating hybrid photovoltaics is challenging because most of the current methods focus on crystalline semiconductors. Nanomaterials like quantum dots and fluorescent dyes are known for their high quantum efficiency and have been studied in great detail during the last decades. But their application in photovoltaic devices is still some years away, especially because of their low carrier mobility.
In this project we combine the design, fabrication and characterisation of hybrid photovoltaic devices composed of monolithic inorganic semiconductor structures and quantum dots or organic dyes. We intend to utilise electronic processes found in natural light harvesting systems to greatly enhance the light to energy conversion efficiency. This work is part of an ongoing research activity in the Laboratories for Hybrid Optoelectronics at the University of Southampton.
