Elena Degoli

The scientific activity is framed in the field of matter physics with particular reference to the use of computational simulation methodologies for the study and design of innovative materials with properties of specific technological interest, especially in the field of nanotechnology.

The main topics addressed in the research activity from 1998 to today have concerned the study, characterization, design and prediction of structural, electronic and optical properties of solid state systems using first principles calculations.

First-principles calculations are able to describe and analyze a variety of problems. In particular, Prof. Degoli activity was based on density functional theory (DFT) for the ground-state properties, combined, for a more accurate description of the excitations of the system, with many-body perturbation theory (MBPT) or, alternatively, time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). There are 3 main areas of research:

• Silicon and germanium nanostructures (2-, 1-, 0-dimensional) for both photonic and photovoltaic applications
• Lead chalcogenide nanostructures, mainly PbS and PbSe nanocrystals of particular interest in the photovoltaic field
• Nonlinear optical properties of systems based on silicon as a new frontier for photonics.