Solid
State
Integration Of Photosynthetic Protein Molecular Complexes
Dr. Marc Baldo
Department of
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massacusetts Avenue
,
Phone: 617-452-5132 / Fax:
617-324-0600
Email: baldo@mit.edu
Dr.
Nikolai Lebedev
Center for Bio/Molecular Science and
Abstract:
Over two billion years of evolutionary adaptation have optimized
the functionality of biological photosynthetic complexes. Plants and
photosynthetic bacteria, for example, contain protein molecular complexes
that harvest photons with nearly optimum quantum yield and an expected
power conversion efficiency exceeding 20%.
The
molecular circuitry within photosynthetic complexes is organized by a
protein scaffold. At present, conventional technology cannot equal the
density of the molecular circuitry found in photosynthetic
complexes. But if integrated with solid state electronics, photosynthetic
complexes might offer an attractive architecture for future
generations of circuitry where molecular components are organized by a
macromolecular scaffold.
We have
demonstrated the solid state integration of photosynthetic complexes. The
functionality of the complexes is tested by fabricating solid state
photodetectors and photovoltaic devices, using complexes isolated from
spinach leaves or photosynthetic bacteria. The internal quantum efficiency
of the first generation of devices is estimated to be 12%. The major
application of photosynthetic photovoltaics is intended to be solar cells
for weight-critical applications such as micro aerial vehicles (MAVs).
