Overview
The NREL MatDB is a central part of the search for more efficient photovoltaic materials by the NREL Computational Materials Science Team. The overall goal is the discovery of better photovoltaic materials through a combination of theory, computer modeling, and physical experiments. The primary authors of the NREL MatDB are Peter Graf, Vladan Stevanovich, and Stephen Sullivan, all of NREL. Stephan Lany and Bill Tumas provide direction and oversight. The NREL MatDB consists of a suite of tools to propel the discovery of new photovoltaic materials:- Computer modeling of large numbers of structures
- Prediction of structure characteristics, such as the bandgap and absorption spectrum
- Data mining to generate new candidate structures
The NREL MatDB was created by the NREL Computational Materials Science team, which is within the Theoretical Materials Science Group of NREL's Energy Sciences division.