Henry Garland,  

Sponsor or Client: 

Title:

Transparent Conductive Oxides for Quantum Optical Devices: A Computational Approach

Abstract:

Computational methods can be used to guide transparent conductive oxide (TCO) research. These computational techniques are useful for quickly analyzing and predicting TCO properties, such as Indium Tin Oxide’s (ITO) electronic and optical structure. Previous studies have analyzed the electronic structure of ITO using density functional theory (DFT), however there is little information on how sodium-ion doping affects the electronic and optical properties.
In my research, DFT calculations have been used to predict the electronic and optical properties of ITO with and without sodium-ion doping. These calculations can then be compared to the experimentally obtained optical band gap data from Tauc plots. UV-Visible spectroscopy data was collected and analyzed via Python scripts to create Tauc plots. By developing methods to accurately predict TCO properties, novel applications in quantum networks, solar cells, light emitting diodes, and optoelectronics can be efficiently explored, thus promoting innovation in the field.