Building blocks of the future for photovoltaics

An international research team has observed the build-up of a physical phenomenon that plays a role in the conversion of sunlight into electrical energy in 2D materials. The scientists succeeded in making quasiparticles — known as dark Moiré interlayer excitons — visible and explaining their formation using quantum mechanics. The researchers show how a newly developed experimental technique, femtosecond photoemission momentum microscopy, provides profound insights at a microscopic level, which will be relevant to the development of future technology.