An illustration shows polarons – fleeting distortions in a material’s atomic lattice ––in a promising next-generation energy material, lead hybrid perovskite. Scientists at SLAC and Stanford observed for the first time how these “bubbles” of distortion form around charge carriers – electrons and holes that have been liberated by pulses of light – which are shown as bright spots here. This process may help explain why electrons travel so efficiently in these materials, leading to high solar cell performance.
Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
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Catching up to Electrons on the Move
Catching up to Electrons on the Move
Sunrise timelapse of Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL)
Deep inside rocky planets like Earth, the behavior of iron can greatly affect the properties of molten rock materials: properties that influenced how Earth...
