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Solid State Theory

Photo of a red apple-shaped structure inside a yellow bowl-shaped structure.

Square of the wave function (red) of a hole state in a spherical CdSe colloidal quantum dot (shape in yellow).

The Solid State Theory (SST) Group at NREL was established in 1978 under the direction of Alex Zunger. The group consists of two regular staff plus anywhere from five to ten postdocs, research associates, and visiting scientists. This group has hosted and trained 48 postdoctoral fellows and published more than 400 papers in refereed journals, including more than 50 in Physical Review Letters and more than 50 in Rapid Communications. We have delivered more than 80 invited talks at major conferences around the world (including 9 at APS March Meetings). The SST Group's main areas of research include, but are not limited to:

  • Theory of photovoltaic semiconductors
  • Statistical and electronic theory of metal and semiconductor alloys
  • Semiconductor nanostructures
  • Computational methods in first-principles theories. 

For staff profiles, publications, and contact information, see Solid State Theory Research staff.