Nanotechnology and Photovoltaic Devices: Light Energy Harvesting with Group IV Nanostructures

Jan Valenta is professor of quantum optics and optoelectronics at the Department of Chemical Physics and Optics, Charles University, Prague. His research is oriented toward optical properties of semiconductor nanostructures, especially silicon. He is developing special spectroscopy set-ups and methods to measure photo- and electroluminescence spectra (down to single nano-objects), optical gain, and absolute quantum yields. His other interests include the history of science, scientific photography, and science-for-art applications. He is co-author (with I. Pelant) of the textbook Luminescence Spectroscopy of Semiconductors (Oxford, 2012).